Hidden within the earth
by Eevee101
Summary: Three mysterious women come to Jump City looking for Terra. Terra learns about a threat to her homeland, and is forced to return to stop the threat. But the Titans may learn some dark secrets of Terra's past… BBxTerra, Hiatus.
1. Prologue

Just FYI I don't own the Teen Titans

Prologue

In a small wooded area on the edge of Jump City, a mysterious young woman was laying on her back beneath the shade of a tree. The woman had long, frazzled grey hair and tired, sliver eyes.

In her right hand she clutched a picture. She gazed at it with watery eyes, trying very hard not to cry. The picture was a woman whom looks about nineteen, she was holding a newborn infant in her arms. It's hard to believe that her sister Ferranea had left her only child in the care of that cold hearted man. She keep thinking to herself on why did sister fell in love with a human. It's the same human whom force Ferranea to go into hiding and Took her daughter against her well Ferranea whereabouts are still unknown. But she was determined to find both her sister and sister daughter no matter what happened. This was the only thing left of her past, the only good memory. So anytime that she wants to give, the Picture reminds her not to give up.

As she continues to hold back the tears, she senses the presence of her two companions, who had finally caught up to her. Footsteps approached. The woman sat up to see her two companions shuffling towards her, whispering animatedly to each other. She struggled to her feet and gestured to them. Her two companions are Gevea and Solstice. Gevea had beautiful lilac colored hair that was in a pony tail. Her hair matched her eyes, Gevea can be short tempered but she had a pleasant smile. Now Solstice have blue eyes and white hair, she is very calm and collective. The three women had known one another since childhood, and now they were travelling to search for a person that was hopefully still in the city.

Took you two long enough."

"It's not our fault you ran off. We had to stop for directions" Gevea said angrily

Yeah," the other piped, "no thanks to you " Solstice said calmly

The grey haired woman shook her head, sighing. "Well come on then, let's go." The three hooked arms and started off, ambling towards the inner city and the Titan's Tower that was situated within.


	2. New Friends

It had been two months since Terra rejoined the Titans, and everything had gone smoothly ever since. After Terra was release from her stone prison, Beast boy had convince the others that it wasn't her fault, the other Titans agreed that they should give Terra another was a beautiful day at Titans' Tower, as Beast boy and Cyborg were arguing about what they were to have for breakfast. Terra was playing chess with Raven, and Starfire and Robin were talking. As the team was relaxing in the main room, the Titans' alarm sounded.

"Trouble!" Robin exclaimed.

"Dude! We didn't even have breakfast yet" Beast boy said.

"Relax, BB, you'll be fine. Your nasty' lookin' tofu waffles won't go anywhere," Cyborg said jokingly. "Nuthin' else'll eat 'em."

"Enough joking around, you two, we've got some serious trouble! Both Cinderblock and Plasmus have broken out of prison. Again. Titans, Go!"

As the order was given, the Titans headed towards the T-car. Once they reached their destination, they caught sight of both Cinderblock and Plasmus fighting with three strange women.

The gray haired woman blocked a punch from Cinderblock, and sent one of her own his way. Cinderblock caught it full in the face, landing a good twenty feet away from his opponent and, just like that, was unconscious. Plasmus was a bit more difficult. Plasmus started spitting acid at his two opponents, but the women were too fast on their feet, easily dodging the acid streams. The white haired woman's hands started to glow blue, and she fired an ice beam, freezing Plasmus' arms and legs. Less than a second later, a body was pulled out of the muck. The sleeping man was held by the lilac hair woman.

The Titans stood there with both shock and amazement. These three women had come out of nowhere and beaten both Cinderblock and Plasmus in just two minutes without even breaking a sweat. Robin was the first one to snap out of his shock and approach the three women.

"Um, excuse me, may I ask who you are?" Robin asked curiously.

The gray haired woman turned to the Boy Wonder and decided to answer his question. "I apologize, we just arrived here in this city and, out of nowhere, these two attacked us. Really, it was self-defense. And to answer your question, please allow us to introduce ourselves. I'm Renseia. It is a pleasure to meet you," as she said with a small grin on her face.

"I'm Gevea. Nice to meet you all," said the other one with a pleasant smile.

The third one simply said, "Solstice," and nodded in greeting.

"My name's Robin. We're the Titans. This is Starfire, Cyborg, Raven, Beast boy, and Terra," said the Boy Wonder as he was pointing at each of his friends.

After Robin introduced the other Titans, Starfire approached Solstice. "Curiosity abounds, please tell me where do you come from? What is your favorite color? Do you wish to be my friend?" Starfire said excitedly.

"Um…," Solstice's responded before deciphering the redhead's fast-paced questions. "Russia, Violet and sure."

Without warning, Starfire immediately engulfed Solstice in a bone crushing hug. "Oh, hello, new friends!" The alien princess cheered. As Starfire finally released her hold on her new friend, Solstice had a hard time standing straight. Wow, she thought, to herself, This girl is stronger than she looks.

"So what brings you three ladies here?" Cyborg asked

"Actually, we're on a mission," said Gevea.

"Really? What kind of mission?" Beast boy asked childishly

"Unfortunately, that's classified," Gevea said with a smirk on her face. Well, at least I don't have to worry about these two… they're alright, she thought to herself.

Renseia started to smile a bit. She was glad that both Gevea and Solstice were getting along with the Titans. Her gaze scanned over the girl named Terra, and immediately the smile dropped. She stared at the blonde haired, blue eyed girl, her eyes widening in shock. Joy and relief ran throughout her entire body. "I can't believe…I finally found her after all these years," she whispered to herself.

As Raven looked back and forth from Terra to Renseia, she could sense Renseia's strong emotions toward her blonde teammate. Does Renseia know Terra?—she asked herself. Something is definitely strange about these three, she thought.

Both Gevea and Solstice had failed to notice their friend's mood change, and, as they continued their conversation with the Titans, Terra's stomach let out a loud growl.

"Sorry. I guess I skipped breakfast this morning," Terra said. She scratched the back of her head in embarrassment.

"Yo… why don't we take both Blockhead and Mugs Face here back to jail, then grab some pizza?" Cyborg said.

"What about you three? You guys can come along if you want," Robin asked.

"Oh, yes, please, you must join us!" Starfire said joyfully, as she grabbed Solstice's arm.

"If you don't mind," Gevea said.

"No, we don't mind at all," Cyborg said.

"Sure." And with that the three women helped Robin and his friends take both Cinderblock and Plasmus back to their jail cell. As they walked towards the pizza place, Raven notice that Terra had been silent for the past few minutes.

"Terra? Is everything alright? You've been awfully quiet," Raven asked, in her usual monotone voice.

"To be honest, I'm not sure. It feels like I've seen Renseia somewhere before…but I can't remember where. What about you? Do you feel…something strange?" Terra asked.

"Yes," Raven answered, "but whatever it is, I only hope nothing bad will come of it.

Xxxx

Hey guys sorry took me so long for this chapter to come out, I hope you enjoy it. This chapter maybe a bit sloppy and again I'm sorry.


	3. Three Familiar Strangers

At the Pizza place: they each ordered their own pizza. Gevea, Solstice, and Ranseia ordered the same large pepperoni pizza. As the three women took a bite of their slice, they each made a face.

"This is really good. A bit greasy, but still good," Gevea said.

"This your first time eating pizza?" Robin asked, raising his eyebrows at Gevea.

"Yes," Renseia answered. "We usually don't stop in cities for food like this."

"Dude," said Beast Boy in surprise, "seriously, if you guys don't stop in cities for food, then what do you eat?"

"Well, to be honest, we usually hunt for our food. Live off the land, so to speak," said Solstice, with a small smirk on her face.

Everyone raised their eyebrows at the three women in surprise.

"No, Cyborg, we are not barbarians, I promise you," Gevea said. Cyborg completely froze with shock at what Gevea had just said. Did I said that out loud? he asked himself.

A soft chuckle was heard coming from Gevea. "No, Cyborg, you didn't say that out loud. It's just that I can pretty much read people's minds. Sometimes," she hastened to add.

"Oh…" all six of the Titans answered simultaneously.

"Don't mind Cyborg," said Beast Boy, tearing into his own vegetarian pizza. "He thinks 'roughing it' is when the drink machine at Burger King runs out of ice."

"That was only one time!" Cyborg defended himself. "Besides, you ever drank warm Dr. Pepper?"

"So…if you guys don't stop in cities, where do you sleep? If you don't mind my asking, that is." Robin asked.

"Usually outside or in caves," Renseia answered.

"Hold up now. You mean you don't have a home?" Robin asked with a curious look on his face.

The three women exchanged glances. "Well, it's not like we don't have homes, so much as it is that we're…not exactly allowed to go back until our mission is completed," Solstice replied. Beast boy was silent for a while until an idea struck him.

"Oh! Say! If you three don't have anywhere to stay, why not stay at our place?" Beast boy suggested.

"Yes! Most definitely! Do stay at our home until your mission is successful!" Starfire said excitedly.

The three women looked at each other, speechless. "Actually, we're fine where we are. So you don't really have to do that," Renseia said.

"I agree with Beast boy and Starfire. You guys should definitely stay with us for as long as you need to," said Robin.

"Yeah, we got plenty of room! Yo, Rae, T, what about you two?" Cyborg asked.

Both Raven and Terra looked at each other for moment, then both nodded their heads in agreement. "Sure."

"Well, since it appears to be unanimous, we'd be delighted to stay," Solstice said, as Gevea and Renseia both nodded.

Terra looked at Renseia for a moment then back at her empty food plate. Why do I have this strange feeling within me that something about Renseia is familiar? "All right then, it's decided. Shall we go back to the tower? We can get you situated there," Robin said. Heads nodded around the table.

After they finished their pizza, the Titans and their new friends all headed back to the tower. Once they got there the three women were amazed. "Wow! This place is huge!" Gevea said. "You guys seriously live here?" She looked around the Tower with an astonished look on her face.

"Yep," Cyborg said. "Home Sweet Tower."

"What a beautiful view," Solstice said, looking out the window.

"So, ladies, wanna see your rooms?" asked Cyborg. The others glared at him. "What? I'm being a good host."

"Yes, please," Renseia said with a small smile. "And thank you. Thank you all."

"Okay then," Robin said. "Starfire, you'll take Solstice, Gevea, you go with Beast boy, and Renseia, you go with Terra. You guys show them around and, oh Cyborg? Why don't you go with them, show them how things work." And with that they left the main room, leaving Robin alone with Raven.

"Raven? Is everything alright? I noticed Terra is not acting like her usual self today. For that matter, neither are you." Robin's tone was serious.

Raven hesitated. Then, "To be honest, Terra said she feels like she knows Renseia from somewhere but doesn't remember where. And…I also sensed something strange about her."

Robin raised his eyebrow. "Strange? Strange how?"

"I'm not sure yet. But haven't you noticed anything…odd…about her?" Raven asked.

"You mean aside from the fact that they came out of nowhere and have super powers? Well, actually, yes. Since you mentioned it, I have noticed that she's been staring at Terra ever sent she got here," Robin said.

"I think it wouldn't hurt for us to keep an eye on things. Just to make sure," Raven suggested. Robin nodded his head in agreement.

(Meanwhile)

As the four Titans continue to show their guests around the tower (with Beast Boy eternally cracking his usual awful jokes to pass the time), they came to the guest quarters where the three women would be staying.

"Yo, Gevea," Cyborg said, excitedly, "Your room is right next to mine. So don't be afraid to ask me any questions. I know all about the tech here, and I know it can be kinda confusing if you're not used to it."

Gevea nodded. "Thank you. That's really very nice of you," she said with a pleasant smile.

"Friend Solstice, you shall stay next to Raven's room!" Starfire said in her usual joyous tone.

"Thank you very much, Starfire," Solstice said.

"Renseia? You'll be staying next to my room," Terra said. Her face was carefully neutral.

Renseia gave the blonde Titan a warm smile. As she approached Terra, she placed a gentle hand on top of Terra's head and ruffled her hair. "Thank you," she said. She looks so much like her mother. And with that that, the three women entered their rooms, closing the doors behind them. Renseia gave the blonde teen one last look before closing her door.

"Awww, I think she likes you, Terra," Cyborg said with a smirk.

"Yeah, I noticed," Terra said. But there's something strange about her still. I can feel it but…it's not a bad feeling. It feels like I've known her my whole life.

But that's impossible.

Xxxxxxxxxx

Hey guys sorry I'm late but I hope you enjoy it please review.


	4. Memories

The next morning, Cyborg was making waffles for breakfast in the small kitchenette. Robin and Starfire walked into the main room.

"Morning, Star, Rob."

"And the good morning to you, friend Cyborg," Starfire said.

"Hey, Cy!" Robin said. "So what's for breakfast?" Like I have to guess, he thought.

"Waffles!" Cyborg answered. At that moment, Solstice and Raven walked in.

"Oh! Greetings, Raven and new friend Solstice!" Starfire said.

"Morning," both Raven and Solstice chorused, their attention fixed on the smell of the cooking waffles.

"Mm. Something smells delicious! What is it? If I may ask," Solstice said.

"It's just my famous homemade waffles!" Cyborg said. "How many waffles do you want?"

"Ah, just two, please," Solstice said.

Raven scowled at her plate. "Don't we have any bigger plates than this?"

Cyborg nodded, and handed a plate of waffles to Solstice. "Thank you," she said. She picked up her fork and started eating.

"Delicious!" Solstice said. Just as she said that, Gevea walked in with a tired look on her face.

"Morning, everyone," Gevea said, with a yawn escaping from her mouth.

"Hey, Gevea, you gotta try these waffles! They're delicious!" Solstice said. "And by the way: where is Renseia?"

"I think she's still doing some paperwork for our…mission. I offered to help but she said no. As usual," Gevea said.

"I see," Solstice said with a sigh. Privately, Solstice thought Renseia took too much on herself.

"By the way," said Gevea casually, "I notice that Beast Boy and Terra are not here."

Raven grimaced. "Beast Boy always oversleeps, and, as for Terra, she's usually up around nine or so."

"I see. Hey! Cyborg! Could I get two of those waffles?" Gevea said.

"Sure. And after we're all done eating, maybe we can do something fun," Cyborg said as he handed a plates of waffles to Gevea.

"What do you do for fun around here?" asked Solstice.

"Either we go to the park or just hang out here and play video games," Robin said.

"We've never play video games before. How do you play it? Or…them?" Gevea said.

"Easy! I'll teach you on everything you need to know! But for now, let's just eat breakfast," Cyborg said, as Gevea nodded her head in agreement.

"Well, you two can play these 'video games' all you want, but as for me, I'm going to practice my spells," Solstice said.

"Wait," said Raven, with a curious look on her face. "You can cast spells?"

"Yes," Solstice answered. "I just created a spell and I want to test it out."

"I see," Raven thought: She must be a sorceress or something. "Do you mind if I come and observe?"

"No, I don't mind at all," Solstice said with a smile.

"Well, you guys can do that. Starfire and I are going to the practice room," Robin said.

"Well, all right. It looks like we're all going to hang out here then," Cyborg said.

But Starfire started, then asked, "But what about Renseia, Beast Boy, and Terra?"

"I'm sure those three will find something to do to pass the time," Robin said. After they were done eating breakfast and cleaning up, they went on with their business.

Meanwhile:

After three hours of looking over the reports from their mission, Renseia had finally just finished her paperwork. As she walked through the hallway she spotted Beast Boy making his way towards Terra's room.

"Beast Boy!" Renseia shout to get his attention. Beast Boy heard his name being called; he turned around to see who it was.

"Oh, morning, Renseia," Beast Boy greeted.

"Good morning to you," said Renseia. "You sure are up a little late."

"Yeah, I overslept. As usual. I just hope that Terra didn't eat breakfast without me," Beast Boy said, scratching the back of his head.

"I see. You and Terra must be, uh, very good friends," Renseia said, with a small smile on her face.

"Of course. Terra is not only my best friend, but she's also my girlfriend," Beast Boy said, as a blush formed on his face.

The smile disappeared from Renseia's face. Wait, she thought, did he say girlfriend? No, that can't be…but it is. And the worst part is, he's not lying, Renseia thought as she started to remember something.

Flashback:

"Ferranea, why are you dating a human, of all things?" Renseia said angrily.

"What do you mean, 'why'?" Ferranea yelled at her sister. "It's because I love him and he loves me. Why shouldn't I date him?"

Renseia clutched her fists in anger, then grabbed her sister by the wrist. "If he loves so much, like you said, then why did I see him with another woman the other day?"

Ferranea looked at Renseia in confusion. "Woman? What 'other woman'?"

Renseia gave her sister a warning look. "You know what I'm talking about."

Ferranea let out a sigh of defeat. "That…was his wife," she said with her head hanging down, avoiding her sister's eyes.

Renseia's eyes went wide with shock. "You are dating a married man?" Renseia said as she let go of her sister's wrist. "How…how long has this been going on?"

"About five months," Farrenea answered. "And he's just not some ordinary man either; he's the king of Markovia. And…and there's something important I have to tell you, but you have to promise not to tell anyone. Not even father. Especially not father."

"Okay, fine. I won't. Now what is it that is so important?" Renseia said, in a much calmer tone.

Farrenea hesitated for a moment. "Well… to tell you the truth…

"I'm pregnant."

And, just like that, the flashback ended, as Renseia's eyes focused back onto the here and now.

"Umm, Renseia? Are you all right?" Beast Boy asked, worriedly.

"Oh, yes, sorry. I must've spaced out for a sec," Renseia said. "Uhm. Is it OK if I asked you a question. A personal question?"

"Sure," Beast Boy said. "I….guess."

"This may not be any of my business, but how long have you been dating Terra?" Renseia asked.

"About two months," Beast Boy answered. "Why?"

"Just wondering." He seems really nice…but I'm still not sure yet, Renseia thought to herself. "Can I ask you one more thing?"

"Sure, dude. Fire away," Beast Boy said.

"Do you mind if I spend time with Terra today?"

"No, I don't mind," said Beast Boy with a pleasant smile.

As if right on cue, Terra walked through the hallways and spotted Beast Boy and Renseia talking. "Hey, Renseia, Beast Boy," Terra said.

"Hey, Terra," Beast Boy said.

"Good morning, Terra," Renseia said, with a small yet pleasant smile.

"By the way, Terra, do you have plans today?" Beast Boy asked.

"No. I'm free today. Why?" Terra said.

"Oh, cool. Renseia, here, said that she wants to spend time with you today, so, if that's okay with you, I'll catch you later. Okay?" And with that Beast Boy left the two alone in the hallway to talk.

"So…Renseia. What do you want to do?" Terra asked.

"How about we walk to the park?"

"Sure, but first can we have some breakfast?"

A soft chuckle was heard coming from Renseia. "Of course we can." And they made their way to the kitchen and sat down to eat breakfast with the others who were discussing their plans for the day. After breakfast, Renseia and Terra made their way to the park.

"I'm glad we have beautiful weather today," Renseia said.

"I agree with you," Terra said with a smile on her face. "So…if you don't mind my asking, why do you want to spend time with me today?"

"Well, I just thought it would be good if we got to know one another a little better," said Renseia.

"Oh…that makes sense. So is it okay if I ask you some questions?" Terra said.

"Sure. Fire away," Renseia replied.

"OK. Then can you tell me where you're from? Like where you're really from?" Terra said.

Renseia hesitated a moment. Then, "Well...it's true that I'm not actually from Russia. I'm from a different dimension called Lianna," Renseia said, as she sat down on a bench.

"Wow. So…what is Lianna like?" Terra asked.

"It's a very beautiful there, and it's a lot bigger than this city," Renseia said.

"Sounds like a great place to live. What about your family?" What am I doing asking all these personal questions?-Terra thought to herself.

"Well, my parents and I are not on good terms right now, but I do have an older sister. We get along really well. And I have a daughter who is about your age."

"Can you tell me what your sister is like?" Terra asked, with a curious look on her face.

Renseia thought. "She is a very beautiful woman. Kind, sweet, caring, sometimes quiet, has a way with children and with words. She is a calm and gentle person but she tends to be a bit stubborn and willful sometimes. The most important part that I love about her is that she's a woman of her word."

"She sounds like a wonderful person," Terra said.

"Believe me, she is. Now that is enough about me. Tell me a little about yourself," Renseia said. (I AM curious about what her life was like all these years, she thought to herself.)

"To be honest…I never told anyone about my past. Not even my friends. But for some reason, it feels like I have to tell you. It just feels, well, right," Terra said looking down.

"I see," Renseia said with a hint of concern in her voice.

"I'm from a place called Markovia. It's a very small country, so not too many people know about it," Terra said, still looking down.

"What about your mother and father? Do you have any siblings? Or are you the only child?" Renseia asked.

"I never knew my mother. From what I was told, my mother left me in the care of my father immediately after I was born. I do have two older brothers: one of them I get along with great and the other one…er, not so much. I also have a stepmother but it's obvious that she really doesn't like me, since I'm someone else's daughter."

"And what about your powers? Where did they come from?" Renseia asked.

"I've had these powers since birth. You know, when my father found out that I was…gifted, well he decided he would take full advantage of that. His 'training,' as he called it, consisted mostly of just beating me every day, multiple times. Over the years, while living with my father, he started to see me as a tool of warfare. What nowadays would be called a 'weapon of mass destruction.' But not just my father; the whole country started to see me as some kind of monster and treating me like an outcast. I couldn't take it anymore, so I ran away," Terra said, with a tear escaping from one of her watering eyes. Without warning, Renseia pulled a surprised Terra into her arms and held her.

Terra started to cry. She placed her head on Renseia's shoulders. (I should have known this would happen to her. If only I could have convinced Farrenea to let me to take care of Terra while she was still an infant, none of this would have happened to her, Renseia thought to herself.) After Terra's cries subsided the two broke apart.

"I'm so sorry about that, it's just I never tell anyone about my past," Terra said.

Renseia smiled and wiped the last tear that dropped from Terra's eyes. "But doesn't it make you feel better?" she asked and received a nod from Terra.

"Holding back on your feelings is not good for you. But if you don't have anyone to talk to about your problem, I'm always willing to listen," Renseia said, an almost playful tone in her voice that did nothing to mask her concern.

"Thanks, Renseia. Thanks a lot," Terra said, with a smile on her face.

"No problem." Renseia turned her head from Terra and looked up at the sky. Dark clouds were rolling in to the sound of thunder. "I think we should head back. It looks like it's about to rain."

"That's strange. The weatherman said it supposed to be sunny today," Terra remarked.

On their way back to the tower, it began to rain on them. They finally made it back to the tower, walked through the hallways and ended up in the main room.

"Hey, Terra, Renseia," Robin said. His eyes narrowed as he saw that as he saw that both of them were soaking wet.

"Oh! Friends! Do you tell us, what happened to you?" Starfire asked.

"What do you mean, what happened? It's raining outside," Terra said.

"Ummm, that's strange. I wonder what happened. The weatherman said it supposed to be sunny today," Robin said.

"Hi, guys!" Solstice said. She entered the main room with Raven beside her.

"Solstice? You, uh, wouldn't perhaps know about the weather changing all of a sudden, do you?" Renseia asked.

"Erm, yeah, that was kinda my bad. I was trying out a new spell…but it looks like it changed the weather instead," Solstice said.

"Gee, thanks for almost drowning us. We almost had to swim back to the Tower. I'm gonna grab some towels to dry us off," Renseia said.

"By the way, Gevea, how was your first video game?" Terra asked.

"It was awesome! I beat both Beast Boy and Cyborg about ten times in a row!" Gevea gushed.

"Are you sure you never play video games before? Because for a newbie you were pretty darn good," Cyborg said.

"Yes, I'm sure I've never play video games," Gevea said. "We…don't have them where I come from."

"Are you kidding me? Dude! I never been beaten so many times in just one day!" Beast Boy said.

"But Beast Boy, I am recalling that Terra beat you twenty times in the row a few days ago," Starfire said. Beast Boy shrugged, a slight smile on his face. "Yeah, well…" At that moment, Renseia came back to the room with some dry towels. She handed one to Terra and started to dry herself off a little.

Much later, after dinner and a few movies, they all decided it was time to turn in for the night. Renseia insisted that she walk Terra back to her room. As they reached to Terra's room, Renseia wished her good night, but before she could walk away, the blonde teen stopped her. "Renseia, wait a sec," Terra said.

"Yes? Is something wrong, Terra?" Renseia asked.

"Nothing's wrong, it's just I was wondering about a couple of things." Terra seemed nervous.

"Okay. What is it? Whatever it is, you can tell me," Renseia said.

"Okay. I was wondering if maybe that we could hang out again tomorrow. Is…is that alright with you?" Terra asked.

Renseia looked at the blonde teen in surprise. "Of course we can," she said with a warm smile. "And what is the second thing you want to ask me?"

"Well, it's about your sister. Can…can you please tell me…what is her name?" Terra asked, wringing her hands nervously.

"My sister's name is Farrenea," Renseia answered. "Why do you ask?"

"Just a bit curious, that's all. Well, good night," Terra said.

"Good night," Renseia said, before walking back to her room.

Later on that night, Terra began tossing and turning in her sleep and mumbling something….

And she dreamed…

A beautiful woman who appeared to be about nineteen. The woman had long red, wavy hair, with blonde streaks. Her blue and red eyes were staring angrily at a man who had a grin on his face. He looked about in his fifties. He had silver hair and red eyes.

"Father, why can't I keep my baby?" the red headed women asked. And dreaming Terra knew it wasn't the first time this question had been asked.

"Because that thing is an abomination to our family, Farrenea!" her father replied angrily.

"She not an abomination! Father, my daughter is a person like everyone else Farrenea said angrily.

"She is an abomination! A being like that shouldn't be born in the first place!" the man growled at his daughter.

Farrenea let out a small gasp in terror at what her father just said. "How can you say that about your own granddaughter?" she asked.

"That…thing is not my granddaughter! And if you choose to give birth to that man's child, then you are not welcome here in this family!" her father said.

"Fine then!" Farrenea said, hurt as much by her father's cold attitude as she was by his words, she ran out the room….

…..and into the cold winter night with tears in her eyes.

As Terra opened her eyes, she set up from her bed while rubbing both of her arms. Only a dream, Terra, she told herself. Only a dream. "It was just a dream," Terra said with a sigh of relief. But she thought to herself: why am I'm freezing cold?

And what was that dream about, anyway? What could it mean?

"Terra?" A familiar voice called out her name in a dark corner of her room.

"Raven! What are you doing?" Terra asked as Raven stepped out from the shadows.

"I was walking past your room when I heard you mumbling in your sleep. You sounded like you were in trouble or something, so I thought I might should check on you. Is everything OK?" Raven asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a weird dream," Terra said.

"I see. By the way, I've been meaning to ask you how it went with Renseia earlier?" Raven said.

"Actually, pretty good. She told me a little about herself," Terra said.

"Oh? Really?" Raven said, a bit curious. "Like what? "

"Well, for one she's not really from Russia. She's from a different dimension called Lianna. And she has an older sister named Farrenea," Terra said. She was trembling, just a little.

"I see. Anything else?" Raven asked.

"No, that was pretty much it," Terra said.

"Are you sure that you're OK? You're shaking." Raven asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just cold, that's all," Terra said while her teeth chattered.

"Maybe you're catching a cold? You barely dried off from the rain," Raven said.

"Yeah. Yeah, that's probably it," Terra said. "Just a cold."

Raven looked at her a moment longer. Then, "Well I'm going to let you get back to sleep. Try to get to feeling better," Raven said, as she left.

To be continued...

hey guys this chapter it's a bit faster but I hope you like it please review.


	5. Secrets Revealed

The next morning, Renseia woke up earlier than everyone else, and decided to make breakfast for herself. But when she got to the kitchen, she saw that Raven was already there. "Good morning, Raven. Aren't you up awfully early, for a Sunday?"

Raven considered, her cup of herbal tea in her hand. "No. Contrary to popular rumor, I'm actually an early riser." She took a sip from her cup. "What about you?"

Renseia grimaced. "I came down here to fix myself some breakfast. I've got a ton of paperwork to do, and I learned a long time ago, it's best to face that after a good meal."

"I can understand that." Raven paused. Then, "May I ask you a question?"

"I…suppose. What is your question?"

"I've noticed….you seem rather quiet and distant around everybody except Terra. You seem…more open with her. Why is that?"

For a moment, Renseia didn't answer, still preparing her breakfast, scrambling the eggs, checking on the biscuits and sausage. "You're a sharp one. Yes, I…do have a special connection with your friend. It's not that I dislike you or your friends, but…." Her voice trailed off.

Raven sipped her tea. "Who said she was my friend?"

Renseia paused in her preparations and looked at the purple-haired sorceress. "You did. Just now. If you weren't her friend, you wouldn't be asking these sorts of questions."

Raven smiled slightly. "Touché. You're pretty sharp, yourself. But I notice you haven't answered my question."

Renseia smiled a positively sunny smile. "You're right, I didn't, did I?"

Flashback:

December 25th: Ferranea had just finished giving birth to her first child. Renseia walked into the room, where the new mother was holding her daughter, Renseia's niece. "How are you feeling?" she asked her sister.

"Exhausted. Happy, but exhausted." She looked down at her sleeping daughter with love. Then she looked up at Renseia. "What's wrong? You look sad."

"You know father won't let you keep her, don't you?"

Ferranea heaved a sigh. "I know, but I'm going to try again. It's been, what, four months now? Maybe things have changed."

"Oh, they've changed, alright. For the worse."

"W-what do you mean?"

Renseia hesitated. Then, "Father sent out an army of demons to look for," she nodded towards the sleeping infant, "her. They're ordered to kill her when they find her."

"No!" Tears welled up in her eyes. "She's just a little girl! Why, why would he, he want to kill her? Why?"

Renseia hesitated. Then, "Father fears her. He's afraid that her power will exceed his—she's a hybrid, you know, and sometimes hybrids are more powerful, better adapted to the conditions of their birth than purebreds. But there's another reason: he's afraid her powers may run wild, run out of control. She could destroy…a great deal." Neither of them said it, but the words, "the planet" hung in the air between them, unspoken. "And from what I'm sensing, your daughter does possess great power, too great for me to even guess at, right now. She…she may possess more power than anyone else in the family. And Ferranea? Don't take this the wrong way, but, but…father may have a sort of a point. I mean, if she does possess such fantastic power, and she can't control it…."

Ferranea wept, holding her sleeping baby to her. "No, no. I, I won't let it happen….I'll find a way…."

Renseia was at her side. "Ferranea, you know I'll do anything I can to help you, and your daughter, my niece. I, I don't care if she destroys the universe, she's still our own flesh and blood. But you may need to get used to the notion that your daughter…is unlike anyone else. Now you know," she said, to Ferranea's upturned gaze, "That I'll help you both in any way I can. You're my sister, and I'll protect you both with my life, if it comes down to it." And she held Ferrenea, with the infant girl between them, while her sister cried openly.

After a few minutes, she was able to stop, and, sniffling, wiping her eyes and nose, said, "Thank you, Renseia. Those words are so inadequate, but…thank you."

Change the subject. "Have you decided on a name for her yet?" Renseia asked.

"Yes," said Ferranea. "Her name will be Tanerria."

Renseia brought herself back to the here and now. Raven was talking. "Renseia? I'm curious. Just what exactly is your mission here, and why do I get the impression it involves Terra?"

Renseia stared blankly for a moment, a cold chill running up and down her spine. "No. Not now."

"Renseia?" Raven noticed her alarm. "Are you alright?" But Renseia didn't answer. She ran out of the room and followed the corridor down towards Terra's room. The door was completely covered in ice, and ice was seeping inwards even as she watched. Seeing the expression of alarm on her face, Raven had followed her down to the doorway. "Renseia? What's going on? What is this?" she said, gesturing at the iced-over door.

Renseia gathered herself. "There's only one way to find out." And with that, she punched through the ice, smashing the door off its hinges. She ran into the room, leaving a shocked Raven out in the hallway. "Better not underestimate her strength," Raven muttered to herself, "She's as strong as Starfire."

The room was covered with ice. Ice hung from the fixtures, the cabinets, and everything else. "We've got to see if she's okay," Renseia said, moving over towards the bed, which, like everything else in the room, was shrouded in ice.

With a worried Raven looking over her shoulder, Renseia pulled back the covers…

Terra lay on her bed. Her normal skin tone had been replaced by an overall blue sheen. "I was afraid something like this would happen," Renseia said, as she caressed Terra's blue cheek.

"What's going on?" asked Raven. She'd never seen anything like this before.

"Terra's full powers are awakening, is what's going on."

"Full powers? What do you mean?"

Before Renseia could answer, the others appeared in the doorway. "Terra!" Beast Boy exclaimed, rushing to her side. He was reaching out to touch her cheek, when he was stopped by Gevea. "No! Don't touch her! Look." Gevea directed their attention to Terra's cell phone, which was completely covered in ice. "Anybody who touches her will get frozen, just like that phone."

"But what's happening?" Robin spoke up from the doorway. "What's going on? How did this happen?"

Solstice answered. "Terra's full powers are beginning to wake up. She's not used to these powers, and it will be dangerous to be around her, until she's able to control them better."

"You mean, Friend Terra has more than one power?" Starfire stood behind Robin, peering over his shoulder at the ice-covered room.

"Why hasn't she mentioned this before?"

"Because she didn't know herself. It's part of her heritage. Such powers usually manifest themselves in early adolescence, but sometimes, for reasons we don't fully understand, certain aspects of a person's powers wait until later on to manifest themselves. Terra's are awakening now."

"'Heritage'? What are you talking about?" asked Robin.

"Guys, hold up." Cyborg was examining a readout on his arm. "Terra's body temperature is dropping like a rock." How can she survive like this?—he asked himself.

Renseia turned to Solstice. "Did you bring that collar? Good. Now's the time for it."

Solstice pulled a black leather collar from her pocket. Attached to it was a rainbow gem perfectly cut and shaped like a butterfly.

"What will that do?" asked Robin, worriedly.

"It will help her control her powers. Unfortunately it's only a temporary measure." As she spoke, Terra's skin color returned to her usual healthy, tanned look.

"Oh, Cyborg! Is Friend Terra alright?" Starfire asked.

Cyborg examined his readouts. "Yeah, her body temp is returning to normal."

Robin crossed his arms and said, "Look. I think you three have some explaining to do."

Gevea sighed. "Maybe….maybe we should just come clean with them, Renseia. I mean, they're already involved; they may as well know the whole truth."

"Alright," said Renseia, turning to the assembled Titans. "What do you want to know?"

"We want to know how you know about Terra and her powers. You came here equipped for just such an emergency as this," Robin gestured towards the room. "It seems obvious that you've a connection with Terra."

"And how do you know about her powers?" asked Raven

"Yeah. You seem to know more about her than we do," muttered Beast Boy.

Resnseia hesitated for only a moment. Then, she breathed out a sigh and said, "Okay, I'll tell you the truth. The whole truth. We're not really from Russia, but a different dimension called Lianna. We were sent here to watch over Terra. Our council of Elders feel that she may not be able to control her powers. So we were sent as, as oversight, I guess you could call it. Terra is not aware of this, but her powers do not stem from anything like human mutation. The truth is, she is half-elemental; her mother was my sister, but her father was human. That makes her a half-breed, so to speak.

"From there, it gets…sort of complicated.

"You see, Terra is part elemental, part human, and part sorceress. Her grandfather is half angel and half demon—I'll have to explain that part later-, and her grandmother is half elemental, and half sorceress."

"Wait," said Raven. "How can her grandfather be half angle AND half demon? You're not making sense."

"Please," said a soft voice from the door. "I am the confused. What is the elemental?"

"Elementals," began Raven, not taking her eyes off the three women, "are nature spirits, usually bound to the Earth in some way."

"Precisely," said Renseia. "We have an unbreakable connection to the Earth. That was what saved Terra from the lava in that volcano. That was also why she turned to stone. The lava accelerated the process, and encasing her in stone is what saved her frail human body, and kept her from dying that day. That's also what kept her in suspended animation all that time: her body was adjusting to its new connections, its new powers. Somewhat like a caterpillar spinning a cocoon, readying itself for the next stage of development.

"I suppose," she continued, "if you were to simplify it as much as possible, you'd have to say that Terra is half-elemental and half-human. But there's are some other strong bloodlines running through her: angel, demon, sorceress, and perhaps a few others we haven't found out about yet."

Renseia shrugged. "Like we said, we've been watching. This is one part of our mission."

"The second part," said Renseia ominously, "is to safeguard her from her grandfather, Vlad."

Starfire was puzzled. "But why would you need to protect her from her own relatives?"

"Yeah," said Cyborg, scratching his head, thoughtfully. "Come to think of it, I can't recall Terra ever talking about any relatives, of any kind, at all. Beast Boy? Have you?" But Garfield only shook his head in a "no" gesture.

"Vlad is a very dangerous man," said Renseia. "He has some dark plans for Terra. He either intends to destroy her, or, worse, use her in some way as some kind of superweapon."

Silence reigned around the room as the Titans took that in.

"Why would this Vlad wish to destroy his own granddaughter?" asked Raven.

"It's like this: while it's true that Terra possesses great power—more so than she realizes—she also poses a distinct threat to him, and to him, personally, from a political point of view."

"Renseia," began Raven. "I think the time for secrecy has come to an end. Terra is our teammate…and our friend. I think we need to know how it is that you have come by this information, and just what your connection to Terra is."

Renseia looked at the others, hesitating a moment. She felt a cold chill run up her spine. Just as she started to speak, the alarms went off, with red lights flashing in the rooms and corridors.

"Trouble!" Robin, shouted. He reached for his communicator, to pinpoint the location. "The diamond mine! Titans, GO!"

"Wait!" shouted Beast Boy, as the all turned to run for the door, "What about Terra? She's still out cold!"

"After what she just went through, I doubt she has enough strength left to fight, or even fend for herself," Renseia stated. Robin nodded.

"Beast Boy, Renseia, you two stay here with her. The rest of us, let's go!" Beast Boy nodded, his eyes fixed on the girl he loved.

After they had gone, Beast Boy turned to Renseia. "So…Terra is half sorceress, you said? I've never seen her use magic before."

Renseia took a seat by the desk in Terra's room, her gaze never leaving her charge. "That's because she's never tapped into her magical abilities, not yet. It's not something that comes automatically, like her earth-moving powers. It comes with training. Ask Raven. She had to be trained in the use of her powers, even though they manifested before she was really ready. And…I can sense Terra's power, even from a world away…" She looked down fondly at the sleeping girl. "We have a bond. A bond as unbreakable as that of the bond we have with the Earth." She turned to Beast Boy, who'd sat down in a chair across the room. "Beast Boy? I-*"

"Please," he raised a hand, "Call me Garfield. Or just Gar. We might as well be on a first name basis."

"Okay…Gar. But I'm curious about something. Has Terra ever used another name?"

"You mean, for herself? No, not that I'm aware. Why?"

"Because 'Terra' isn't her real name. Don't get me wrong; 'Terra,' or 'Tara,' as I understand she's called herself, is a perfectly good name. But the name her mother gave her…I just think it's beautiful."

"What name did her mother give her?"

"'Tanerria.'"

Meanwhile, the Titans and the two women arrived at the diamond mine, but too late; all they found were the miners themselves, just then groaning and recovering from the beating they'd taken. Robin could hear first responders—ambulances, and probably the police—in the distance. They'd be here shortly.

Gevea sensed the attack before any of the rest of them. "Get down, everyone!" she shouted. Without warning the crystals came hurtling at them like spears.

Gevea raised an earthen barrier to shield herself and the others. As she did so, a monster stepped out from the shadows where it had been previously concealed.

The creature appeared to be made of crystal, and, even as they watched, more crystal spears began to form along its arms. The giant creature raised its arms and shot the crystals at the Titans and the two women.

The crystal spears stuck in the earthen barrier Gevea had raised, but the monster just produced more, readying itself to unleash them upon the heroes. "Titans, Go!" shouted Robin.

Starfire began pelting the monster with her starbolts, but they proved ineffective against the creature's crystal hide. It grabbed her by the leg and threw her at a surprised Solstice, sending them both crashing into the cavern walls.

"Azerath, Metrion, Zinthos!" shouted Raven, as she levitated several ore carts and sent them hurtling towards the thing, but, once again, it remained unharmed. It sent a single crystal spear towards the dark sorceress, but Gevea pushed her out of the way, raising another barrier of earth between them and the monster. Gevea barely had time to react before the thing sent another crystal spear her way, but she raised a barrier of rock between it and the rest of them.

Gevea went over to Raven. "Are you okay?" She offered the dark girl a hand to stand up. Raven nodded, and accepted the offer of help to stand.

"We can't be on the defensive all the time," thought Raven. "What was this thing made of?" She turned her head in time to see Solstice morph into a werecat and launch herself at the creature, again without causing it any harm. The crystal monster threw the Elemental off, who barely dodged another crystal spear.

"Yo, Robin! What's the plan here? Nothing seems to be working!" said Cyborg.

"Use your sensors, tell us what that thing is made of, Cy. Maybe that'll help us come up with a plan!" He leapt for the creature, but rolled just under its outstretched arms, his bo staff scissoring its legs apart. The monster fell in a heap, roaring in rage; he barely avoided getting crushed by the thing's massive form. Robin climbed on top of it, his bo staff pointed at the thing's neck. "Who are you? Why did you come here?" But the creature let out a growl that sounded more demonic than natural.

Its jaw worked, and they could barely make out the words: "G...g…girl. Where…is…the g-girl?"

"What girl? Asked Cyborg. But just then, a gust of wind blew out of the mine shaft, surrounding the creature, and carrying it off into the darkness of the cave.

"Okay," said Raven. "You don't see that every day. Did any of you see where it went? I couldn't track it, for some reason."

"I couldn't tell," said Robin. "It looked like it was…carried off deliberately, maybe before it could say any more."

"But who is the girl this monster is looking for?" asked Starfire.

Robin turned to Gevea and Solstice. "I don't suppose you have anything to add to this?"

The two Elementals looked at each other for a moment. Then, "No," they both answered in unison.

They're lying, thought Raven. But why?

To be continued….

Xxxx

Hey guys sorry this took a little longer I was very busy so hang in there. Please read and review.


	6. Feelings

Later on that evening: Terra was still out cold. Her new powers awakening had drained her of all her strength. But then she began to sweat and mumbled something in her sleep….

And she dreamed….

A four year old Terra lying in the middle of a dungeon floor, bloody and bruised, as a larger man with black hair and blue eyes stood over her with a whip in his hand. He kept lashing at her, saying, "You worthless little brat! How dare you defy me! I'm the KING!"

Terra whimpered at this. "I'm sorry, father! I just-*" But before she could say anything else he grabbed her by her hair and threw her to the wall. Terra began to cry harder, (Somebody please help me! Mama! Please! It hurts so much!) she thought.

"Shut up, now!" he roared in her ear. "I see why your mother abandoned you! It's because you're WORTHLESS! And scum like you should never have even been loved in a first place!" Her father raised the whip high in the air to strike her again….

Terra woke up, gasping for breath, feeling the whip all over again. The tears wouldn't stop coming. Why, she thought, oh why can't I quit dreaming about that?

"Terra? Are you alright?" The concern in Renseia's voice brought her back to reality, and she realized she wasn't in her room.

"I, I'm fine…I guess. What happened and where am I?"

"You're in Renseia's room," Beast boy answered. "We thought it would be best if we moved you here. Your room kinda got, er, covered in ice."

Terra looked at Beast boy in confusion. What? Ice? "What are you talking about? Did something happen?"

"Renseia can explain everything. I'm gonna go grab a bite to eat. Can I bring you something, honey?"

Terra found she was hungry. "O-okay. Yeah. Uh, you'll, you'll be right back, won't you?" For some reason, she found she didn't really want to be alone with Renseia right then.

"Be right back." He kissed her on the forehead and ducked out the door.

Renseia hesitated for moment. Then she let out a sigh. "Well, I guess I'll start from the beginning. Terra, do you know anything about your mother?" Terra only shook her head in a "no" gesture. "I see. Well, I'm going to have to tell you some…things. So please try to stay with me. You're mother…is neither human nor a human mutation. She is what's known as an Elemental."

"What's an Elemental? I never heard of them before," Terra said.

"Elementals are…nature spirits, though the whole concept of 'spirits,' at least as Americans understand it, is…, well, not what most people think. We're not ephemeral creatures, like ghosts. We're physical beings, what are perhaps best termed 'paraphysical.' We are bound to the Earth, but…unfortunately there are very few of us left."

"Why is that?"

"A couple of reasons. Long story short, back many centuries ago, certain human authorities found it…convenient to blame economic and social problems on 'witches.' This basically had the effect of declaring open war on us, and we were driven from homes and villages where we'd lived peacefully for centuries. And even though there wasn't much the human authorities could do to us, directly, they could still cause great damage up to and including death for those humans who continued to associate with us, those we cared about. So that was another reason we decided to…leave, basically. A…tactical retreat, I suppose you'd call it.

"So we left. We left for another dimension. A dimension we call Lianna."

"So…if my mother is this…elemental thing"

"Not a 'thing,' dear," said Renseia, almost sharply. "Not a thing. She's person, the same as you."

"Right, right, that's what I meant, I mean, I didn't mean…oh, never mind. But if my mom's an elemental…does that make me one, too?"

Renseia glanced off, briefly, and Terra got the impression she was a little embarrassed by what she was about to say. "Well, actually, your case is a little complicated. In addition to having human and Elemental genes in you, you've also got bloodlines from demons, angels, sorceresses"

"I didn't know angels HAD blood."

"Some do, some don't. Now, don't interrupt. Anyway, you have a lot of different genetic markers in you. You might say your ancestors, er, 'got around,' to use a phrase. But in practice, what that means is, you have more than one set of powers. Some of which may even be contradictory."

"Contradictory?"

"In other words, some may actually cancel each other out."

"So…how would I…?"

"You wouldn't. But under certain circumstances, you may find yourself exhibiting powers and abilities that you previously didn't appear to have had, and had no clue you did. And, to make matters even more complicated, unable to use powers you previously did. This can be…a bit of a problem, depending upon what those powers are."

"Amen." Terra shuddered. Her own "normal" powers, that she'd had ever since she could remember, had been trouble enough. Now she was faced with the very real possibility that she might have powers she wouldn't even know she had until they started to act up? That was her worst nightmare come to horrendous life.

She took a moment to let all this information sink in. "Renseia? How is it that you know so much about my mother? How do you know so much about me?"

Renseia looked into the blond teen's light blue eyes. (So much like her mother…) Then she steeled herself. The moment of truth had come. Terra had the right to know the truth. The truth might indeed make her free, but sometimes freedom is dangerous. "Okay. Do you remember when I was telling you about my sister? Well, there was…another part I didn't mention. About fourteen years ago, she gave birth to a healthy little girl. But…she couldn't keep her. Her father,,.a man named Vlad, would have done anything to get his hands on the child, and, should he succeed…well, let's just say it would be bad. Very very bad. To the whole world.

"So Ferranea didn't have any choice but to send the child away to where she could be safe. Or, at least, safer. She thought," she added after a moment.

"Terra…you are that child."

"W-wait," Terra stuttered, "y-you mean…?" Even though she'd been halfway expecting it, still the knowledge itself came like a hammer-blow.

"You are Ferranea's daughter…and my niece."

"But…how…I mean…how do you know…?"

Renseia pulled out a small locket from her vest. She handed it to Terra. Terra opened it…and saw that it contained a picture.

Terra gazed in astonishment at the picture. Terra herself was still a teenager; this was obviously the woman she'd be when she grew into her own. Except for the color of her hair and eyes, it was like looking into a mirror.

She was…unbelievably beautiful.

"I don't blame you for doubting, Terra. You were only a newborn when I saw you last. But this is Ferranea. This is your mother."

She continued. "You mother wanted to raise you herself, but her father, as I said, had…other plans, bad ones. So she did the only thing she could: she left you with your biological father. It broke her heart." She paused. "It broke mine, too.

"I promised her I'd look after you. I lost you for so very long there, but when we heard about you, and your geomancing powers…it wasn't a big leap of logic to figure it out. And after I saw a picture of you in a newspaper…there was no doubt.

"Ferranea is your mother. And she loves you very much. She just wasn't able to keep you, herself"

She went on. "From what you were telling me, leaving you with your father…was…not a good idea, either. But we I've found you now, and you don't have to worry about him anymore."

At that point, Beast Boy returned, bringing Terra a burrito and a glass of water. "Here, honey, thought you might" He was shocked beyond belief when she grabbed him in a bear hug, crying endlessly. He looked over at Renseia, with half part astonishment and half part suspicion.

What had she done to his love? "What…what's been going on?"

"What had to be." Renseia sighed. And she proceeded to tell him the story, showing him the picture in the locket.

He sat on the bed, holding Terra in one arm, and gazing at the picture. "Wow. Well, that…explains a few things, I guess. So this…Vlad guy is your actual dad? And he's half angel and half demon? Talk about diversity... And your father…the king of Markovia? From some of the things you'd said, I'd sorta suspected that, but you never actually came out and said so…I figured you'd tell me if you wanted me to know. What happened with him, anyway?" When Renseia told him, Terra still sobbing uncontrollably, his face hardened. Renseia looked at him with an approving smile. Beast Boy might be a vegan, but she had a hunch that could be subject to change should he ever encounter the man who had so abused his love.

Being eaten by a lion is seldom a pleasant experience.

"Anyway, to finish, your real name is Tanerria. That was the name your mother picked for you. Why your father chose to call you by another name is something I don't know. It may be, he had some idea Vlad was looking for you, and this was his way of keeping your existence a secret. For his own reasons, of course."

"My…real name is Tanerria? The way you say it…what does that name mean?"

Renseia smiled. "In the language of my excuse me, of our people, it means 'whirlpool.' She…you were the only thing she could think of, every second of every day. You were the whirlpool her life revolved around."

Terra sat on the edge of the bed, Beast Boy sitting right beside her, his arm around her. She was still sniffling, and looking at the locket. "Is…is my mom…?" She couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence.

"Yes, your mother is very much alive."

"How, how do you know?"

"We Elementals have the ability to sense the life force of others, people, animals, even plants. So even though your mother is very far away, I can sense her. That's also how I was able to find you.

"But I'm having trouble pinpointing her. Perhaps you could help me find her? It may be you can sense her location better than I can."

But Terra just shook her head. "I…this is all so new to me. I mean, I've…I've had, had certain senses for as long as I can remember, but, but I never really thought about them. I guess I just always assumed…y'know…some side effect to my powers. I didn't know what they were." She let out a sigh. "When I was seven, I ran away from Markovia. I, I just couldn't take it anymore. I got lost in a blizzard, and, and passed out, I guess. When I came to, I was in a big room, within a mansion, and, and there was this woman sitting next to me. I'd never seen her before. I…I couldn't really tell how old she was, I mean, I was just a kid. But she didn't seem much older than me. She adopted me, and took care of me up until I was thirteen. My problem was, my powers kept acting up, and I had to keep moving. Kid that I was, I guess I thought she'd, I dunno, come with me, but, but of course, she couldn't do that…and I understand. She couldn't follow me all over the globe. I mean, no one could…" A tear started down the side of her face, and her voice broke.

"One person can," whispered Beast Boy, in her ear. "And one person will. But I'd rather you stay with me."

She smiled, weakly. Reached over and put a hand on his chest. "Thanks, Gar. That…you've no idea how much that means to me."

"Not half as much as you mean to me."

Now the tears were flowing freely. Renseia looked on with a smile. Yes, this young man would most definitely do. But then she frowned. There was something a little odd about him, something her supernatural senses was detecting…she couldn't quite put her finger on it. "A-anyway, I kept on moving. Every time I thought I had my powers under control, s-something would happen, a-and…" She broke down completely, and he gathered her to his chest, which was already soaked with her tears.

Renseia let her get herself under control. Then, "Are you still having trouble controlling your powers?"

Terra sniffled. "Not as much as before. But, but sometimes it seems like, like there's…something else, some other power, some other kind of power inside of me somewhere. A power that's, like, working its way out," she said, worriedly. "I have enough problems with the powers I already have. I don't need any more problems!"

"Well, not to worry. I'm here now, and I can help you learn how to control, not only your earth-moving powers, but also these others. I have some experience with them." She smiled a confident smile.

"See, honey? Not only do you have us, you've also got some pretty powerful people in your corner. Everything's gonna work out just fine," Beast Boy said, encouragingly. She nodded, still overcome by emotion.

"Can…can you really teach me how to use my powers?"

"Of course. What you're calling 'powers' are just an everyday thing with our people. It'll be no trouble teaching you to control that aspect of your being." She sat on the bed beside Terra, with Beast Boy on the other side, and put her arm around the blond geomancer. "I know I haven't been here for you until now, but I'm going to make it up to you. If you'll let me."

Terra returned her embrace, one arm around Renseia, one still around Beast Boy. "Thank you," she whispered. "Both of you."

(meanwhile)

The Titans and the two women returned to the Tower, as they walked into the main room, Cyborg happened to see Beast Boy just then coming in from the residential areas. He made his way towards the couch. Cyborg grabbed a cold drink out of the fridge and sat by him.

"Hey, Cy. How was the mission?" Cyborg noted that Beast Boy seemed distracted, in some way.

"Awful. Some crystal monster. We couldn't scratch it. Even with their help." And here he nodded his head at Solstice and Gevea. Beast Boy's eyes widened.

"That had to be some monster."

"Yeah." He gulped down half his soda at one long pull. "We gave it everything we had, an' it didn't even blink. At least," he sat hunched forward, toying with the top of his soda can, "at least I don't think it blinked. Kinda hard to tell on a creature with no eyelids."

"Yeah," said Robin, also raiding the fridge. "Strangest thing, though. One minute it was about to take our heads off, the next it just disappeared. Poof. Well, not exactly 'poof.' I mean, not 'poof' as such…."

"I was there, beloved," said Starfire's soft voice. "It was the poof."

"Well, anyway…" He knew better than to argue with Starfire. "How's Terra doing? She up yet?"

Beast Boy shifted, as though the question had made him somewhat uncomfortable. "Yeah…we moved her into Renseia's room. Hers is pretty much a walk-in freezer right now."

"Let me guess. Renseia's with her, right?" Raven's monotone voice betrayed no emotion.

At least, none to those who didn't know her. To those that did….

"Yeah. She and Terra had some things she wanted to talk over." He was uncertain of just how much he should tell his teammates about what had gone on in that room, earlier. How much did Terra want of what she'd just now learned to be revealed? And how rapidly? Terra had always been a rather private person. That was one reason why she had made such a perfect spy for Slade; everybody simply put down her secrecy to her own sense of personal privacy. Even he, her boyfriend, hadn't been told everything about her.

Considering some of the things he'd learned, he found himself wondering whether or not that was because a lot of them were things she was trying very hard to forget.

Terra had never asked for nor wanted anyone's pity. She had simply kept certain parts, certain horrendous parts, it now seemed, of her life private, and, probably, had hoped they'd simply never resurface. But now, in a way hopefully, a healing way, they had, and he received the distinct impression that she herself wasn't too certain on just what she wanted shared with the group and what she didn't.

"Well, that's good to hear," said Robin, in a tone of voice that said he really hadn't registered on Garfield's uncertainty. "If anyone needs me, I'll be researching that crystal monstrosity." And he walked out of the main room.

"Well, ya'll, while Robin's away, the cats will play. I'm thinkin' Chinese for dinner. Sounds good to the rest of you?" Heads nodded across the room. Cyborg was already halfway through the dialing sequence.

"I am curious, friend Solstice," said Starfire, "In the battle earlier, we saw you morph into what appeared to be a cat, I am believing? Is that some kind of magic you can use?"

"I was wondering the same thing," said Raven, curiosity in her voice. "I didn't know that morphing in animals was part of your skillset."

"Well, yes and no. I can use magic, but that's a different…mode, I guess you'd say. I can morph in mythical creatures. Such as a werecat, which is what you saw. Not 'real' animals, or creatures, like you, Garfield. Just supernatural ones.

"And, when I do, I possess the powers of those creatures. It…comes in handy. Sometimes." She frowned. "Didn't help us much against that crystal demon."

"Is that what it was? A demon?" Raven's interest was piqued.

Solstice sighed. "Without evidence, it's hard to say. But generally creatures like that, ones that have no real resemblance to anything in the mortal world, are usually either demons, other Elementals, or, in some cases, a form of fallen angel. We know this thing wasn't an Elemental; Gevea and I would have sensed it if it was. I don't think it was a fallen angel…"

"Why not?"

"Because we're still here instead of spread out in a diffusing cloud across forty zip codes….so that only leaves demon. Chances are, I mean." She shrugged.

"Really? Mythical creatures? Can you turn into, say, a vampire?"

"Of course." And immediately, where Solstice had been standing, was another sort of creature altogether: a pale, almost painfully thin, dark haired woman with protruding fangs and blood red eyes.

"Sweet! Uh," he asked nervously, "do you also get, like, a vampire's uhm appetite?"

"To be honest, I don't know." Solstice's voice sounded slightly different, possibly, thought Beast Boy, because of her fangs. "I've never stayed in this form long enough to find out. I can use the powers of a vampire, so I suppose I would also have the, er, culinary preferences, so to speak."

"Hey, Solstice!" Cyborg hollered from across the room. He was still placing their order. "You want orange sauce or blood on your chicken?" He laughed.

"Sorry, sir," came a bored voice over the phone, "we're fresh out of blood. Won't have any in until Tuesday."

"Okay, cancel that last option, Sol!"

"Ha Ha. Very funny," said Solstice, morphing back to her base form. "Just make it orange sauce, then." She heard a snicker from Gevea.

Meanwhile, a universe away…

Vlad was deep in thought, looking up at the three moons in the night sky. One moon was green, another was blood red, and the third was violet. Standing on the balcony of his castle's throne room, he studied those moons. They were more than just celestial objects. His thoughts were interrupted by one of the guards. "Milord," said the guard, bowing deeply.

"Yes? I trust you have good news to report?" Vlad's outer calm demeanor fooled no one.

"Er, no, Milord. Unfortunately, the creature was stopped by four meta-humans and two of Renseia's companions."

"Hm." Vlad stood on the balcony, one foot propped up, watching the moons that were more than moons, rubbing his chin. "It looks like that abomination made flesh has made some powerful friends. And, of course, Renseia and her companions are also there. They try me." Sparks flew between his dark eyebrows. "Someday they will try me too far."

"What are your orders, Milord?"

Vlad gestured, and a magic circle appeared in the center of the room. A coughing roar came from within the circle, and three shadow phantoms appeared.

Vlad turned to the guard. "Take these three spirits to the human world and find me the girl."

"What sort of girl, Milord?"

Vlad rubbed his chin, with its carefully sculpted Van Dyke beard waxed and polished. "It won't really matter. But someone young…yes, someone between the age of fifteen and twenty. And, of course, in good health." He smiled an unpleasant smile. "I can do much with such a one." The guard saluted and left, bowing low. "Yes, a great deal, indeed."

After they were gone, Vlad let out a heavy sigh. (I suppose I might as well go check in on my little prisoner.)

He made his way to the deepest, darkest part of the castle, where the dungeons were. There was a singular occupant in one.

The woman had been beautiful before her imprisonment, and, in spite of everything, she remained beautiful. She had long red hair with blond streaks that framed a heart-stoppingly lovely face. Her eyes always attracted the attention of anyone who saw her: one eye, the right eye, was sky blue, while the left was a startling red in coloration. She was chained to the wall by oddly-shaped shackles that pinned her hand and ankles. She glared hatefully at Vlad as he entered. "Don't you have anything better to do, like go pull the wings off of flies, or something?"

Vlad smiled inwardly. Her spirit was undaunted; he'd never been able to break it. He was beginning to wonder if he even wanted to. "Why the venomous gaze, Ferranea? You know you brought this on yourself by giving birth to that abomination you call Tanerria. You should never have let that happen. It wasn't like I didn't tell you, you know.

"And you may as well stop trying to break those chains. They're adamantine overlaid with spells of containment. So not only are you not going anywhere, your powers are completely nullified as long as they're in place."

"You bastard. What have you done to her?"

"Still more concerned about that brat, I see. Well, in answer to your question: nothing yet. All I've done is send out some…emissaries, shall we say, to inquire about her whereabouts. After all, it would be wasteful not to make some use out of the ultimate hybrid before I…well, let's just say, while we still can. However, she seems to have made some friends. Not that they'll save her, of course. Just wanted to let you know the collateral damage will be higher than previously estimated." A cold smile. "Especially once she loses control of her powers and goes on a killing spree.

"Again."

To be continued…

Hey guys sorry it took me so long to finish this chapter and I hope you like it please read and review.


	7. Training Day

Hidden Within the Earth: Chapter 7: Training Day

….

Hey! I know that some of you guys are curious about the various characters' ages in my story and so here they are. And like I said before I don't own Teen Titans.

Robin- 16

Cyborg- 18

Starfire, Raven- 15

Beast boy, Terra- 14

Renseia- 25 biological years; actual life-span: 334 years

Solstice- 24 biological years; actual life-span: 332

Gevea- 22 biological years; actual life-span: 327 years

Ferranea- 27 biological years; actual life-span: 336

Vlad- 54 biological years; actual life-span: 546 years

…..

Chapter 7: Training Day

Renseia woke up the next morning, feeling exited as she looked out over the ocean next to Titans' Tower. I can't believe I finally told Terra everything, she thought to herself.

She was so deep in thought that she almost didn't hear the voice calling out to her. "Renseia!"

"Hello, Gevea. You're up early," Renseia teased. Gevea was not a morning person. Indeed, she'd been heard to say that morning wouldn't be such a bad idea if it just took place later on in the day.

"Ha ha. Very funny. You should be in a circus, getting out of that little bitty car, along with thirty or forty others just like you."

"So what's up?"

"I just wanted to tell you that the Council of Elders contacted me this morning, and I told them everything that happened with Terra yesterday."

"What did they say?" Renseia was a bit nervous. The Council of Elders could be unpredictable, at times.

"Basically, they said to keep a close eye on her and train her if any of her new powers begin to manifest themselves."

"Well, duh."

"They also said they wanted to see her 'at the earliest possible convenience.'"

"Oh." Renseia could see how that might pose a problem. "Gevea? You know some people on the inside of the Council, don't you?"

Gevea looked at her out of the corner of her eyes. "A couple. Why?"

Renseia bit her lip. "Well, I'm just wondering…"

"Whether or not—or should I say, how fast—word of this will get back to Vlad?"

"Exactly."

Gevea thought for a moment. "He may already know. In fact, if that crystal demon was sent by him, then he certainly knows. But perhaps….my contacts can see to a little…misinformation. That might be about the best we can do, at this point."

"Then that'll have to be good enough. Do you really think that crystal demon was sent by Vlad?"

Shrug. "I'm almost certain of it."

Renseia let out a breath. "Then…he does know." This this makes things more serious than before, she thought to herself.

"Well," she said, "the next time Vlad makes a move, we'll just have to be ready." I only hope we are, she thought to herself. Gevea nodded and headed towards the door. "You coming back anytime soon? 'Cause Robin invited us to sparring practice."

"Yeah, I'll catch up with you in a moment," she said, leaving Renseia with her thoughts.

Gevea was making her way towards the main room when she saw Raven standing in the middle of the hallway. Something about the half demoness indicated that this meeting was no accident. "Hello, Raven," Gevea said, a polite smile on her face. Inwardly, though, she prepared herself. Raven's body stance indicated a desire to have some questions answered.

"Gevea." Raven nodded to her. "Where is Renseia?" she asked, glancing behind the Elemental.

"She said she'll be joining us shortly. Is there something you need from her?" Gevea was curious."

"I was hoping," began Raven, "that she might answer some questions about Terra's situation."

Gevea tensed slightly more. "Perhaps I could answer your questions. Unless you'd prefer to speak to Renseia directly."

"It's about what happened yesterday."

Gevea glanced away. For some reason, she felt it would be a mistake to look Raven in the eyes right then. "Yesterday? What about yesterday?"

"I'd appreciate it if you didn't play games with me. After that creature got away from us, I remember Robin asking you if you knew anything about it. You both said no. But I'm an empath. I can sense when people are lying.

"And you were." Gevea could sense the faintest hint of carefully controlled anger in Raven's voice. "What happened once…is likely to happen again. And teammates—which is what I thought we were—don't withhold valuable information from the other members of their team.

"So what DO you know about that creature? And perhaps others like it?"

Gevea sighed in defeat. She and the others should have known better than to try to fool the empath. "Alright, I'll tell you. But we'd all appreciate it if you didn't tell the others, at least, any more than is necessary. It would cause them unnecessary worry and may cause them to do…foolish things—especially the green one."

Raven nodded in understanding. She knew how worried the others would be…especially Beast Boy.

"The creature was a demon. It was sent by Vlad." Gevea's tone was very serious.

Raven looked shocked. "Vlad? You mean Terra's grandfather?"

"The same."

"Why would he send a demon after his granddaughter?"

Gevea hesitated a moment. Then, "Vlad is, let's just say, extremely powerful. And, like a lot of extremely powerful beings, he intends to become more so. That's why he's looking for Terra. Hers is a unique bloodline; in fact, completely unique. She's the only one of her kind to have ever existed, as far as anyone knows. Right now, her abilities are…confined, shall we say, to geomancy—earth-moving. But she has the…capacity? Is that the right word? For OTHER powers, as well. As she is now, she doesn't have a clue as to how to use them—neither do we, for that matter—but I'll bet Vlad does. That's why he wants her: under his control, she'd be a superweapon."

"Azar," muttered Raven, remembering the trouble Terra had given them when she was working for Slade. She'd been almost impossible to defeat then. And that was when she was in control of powers. Controlled by Slade, she'd come very close to killing them all. If she hadn't broken Slade's control at the last moment, she would have.

And Raven remembered that one of Terra's problems had been controlling her powers. Her lack of control had been what had driven her to such desperate measures as accepting Slade as her mentor. Now…if what Gevea was telling her, she could easily have other powers, powers that might prove to be all the more uncontrollable.

Terra could already shake the very planet they all walked on. What might happen if, should other abilities surface, she lost control of them, too? "Just how strong is Vlad, anyway? We could come into conflict with him." And we certainly will, if he intends to hurt our Terra.

"Vlad is part demon and part angel. Precisely how that happened, we aren't exactly sure. However, that, plus his own natural aptitude, makes him immensely powerful. Could we defeat him? Possible. What are the odds? Not good. Maybe fifty-fifty. If we got very, very lucky.

"What about Terra's own powers? Her new ones, I mean?"

"To be honest," Gevea said, "none of us are sure about that. Her new powers just awoke yesterday; you saw the result. As long as she wears that collar, she won't lose control, or at least, not as much. She shouldn't pose a danger to herself or anyone else as long as she wears it."

"So…basically, it's 'wait and see what happens.'" Raven didn't sound happy about it.

"Basically."

Raven had her mouth open to ask another question when she heard her name being called from down the hallway. "Hey, Raven, Gevea. C'mon down to the training room!"

"Okay," replied Raven. Then she turned to Gevea. "We WILL talk more about this later." And the two headed on down to the training room with Cyborg.

Some of the others were already there; Raven noted that Renseia and Terra were not among them. "Robin? Where's Terra and Renseia?"

"They're outside, working on Terra's geo powers. 'S'better out there in the open."

Outside: Renseia was teaching Terra how not only lift boulders, but to turn them into sand, and changing their shapes. Terra found she could control sand, as well. "Neat!" Terra exclaimed. "I had no idea I could do this!"

"Sand is still rock, just very very small rocks. Now. Catch that boulder, and, without grinding it to sand, concentrate on changing its shape."

"I can do that?"

"Of course."

After about three hours of this, Terra was out of breath. Renseia called a halt, and handed her a towel and a bottle of water. "Wow," said Terra, "I didn't know I could do all this!"

"You're really only limited by your imagination. Oh, there are some other factors involved, such as controlling certain elements will take an awful lot out of you, life-force-wise. With an immortal, that isn't as much of a concern, but with you, it is. So it's best to take it slow and easy, at least at first."

"If this is 'easy,' I'd hate to see 'hard'!"

Renseia smiled. "Don't worry about it. We'll just work you up to it."

"Renseia?" The two were sitting on a rock outside the Tower, along the shoreline of the small island it rested upon. "I'm curious. You said, the other day, that I might develop other powers? Powers that I couldn't control? And what did you mean when you said some of them might cancel others out?"

Renseia hesitated only a moment. "It's complicated, Terra. But because of your unique genetic structure, you may—you may—develop additional powers, or your powers could change. For example, and, keep in mind, this is only an example. I'm not saying it'll happen, or that it'll really be like this, but….you might develop, say, water powers. That would be a big help, if you were close to any source of water. In the middle of the desert, maybe not so much, but… But anyway, you'd need to learn a new set of controls for those powers. And you might lose your earth-moving powers at the same time. Not saying you would," she said, holding up a finger to Terra's alarmed expression, "only that it COULD happen. Doesn't mean it will.

"Or you could develop powers over some element you didn't even know existed before."

"Whoa. Like what? I mean, there's only four, aren't there? Earth, air, fire, and water?"

"Oh, no. There's way more than that. There's artificial, natural, supernatural, physical, psychic, esoteric, what humans might call 'fantasy,' cosmic, universal, transcendent, demonic, conceptual, metaphysical, and primordial, to name a few."

"Those are elements? I never heard of them before? And I can control all those?"

"Oh, no. No, your control, at least right now, is limited by your mortal flesh and blood. And you couldn't control all of them anyway; you'd explode if you had all those powers active within you. You'd have to change, and change pretty drastically, to be able to handle even a fraction of those. But those are just some of the elements there are, and which you might be able to control…someday.

"But for now…" Renseia smiled a small smile, "Now I'd like to teach you a little trick. It's not much, as elemental powers go, but you might enjoy it."

"What's that?"

"I'm going to teach you how to walk on water, and on lava."

Terra stared. "You're joking, right?"

"Nope. Not a joke. Come on, I'll show you."

Renseia took her to the water's edge, where the shoreline sloped gently down into the surf. The bay was calm; the water lapped gently against the rocky shoreline. "Here. Here's how you do it. First, concentrate, just like you do with earth moving. Build up your life force, and in particular, your water force, and concentrate it in your feet. Visualize the surface tension of the water increasing."

"My water force?"

"Water is just another form of matter. Just like when you move and reshape rock, only visualize water instead of earth.

"Here. Watch." And Renseia calmly walked out onto the water.

It was the most amazing sight. The sea was calm, and it was like she was walking on an ever-shifting floor, or a really fine sanded beach. "Balance is the key. You don't want to lose your balance, so you have to be alert for waves, especially big ones."

"What happens if a big wave comes?"

"If you see it coming, and are prepared for it, you can actually surf it…without a surfboard. But if you aren't prepared, well, you could go straight to the bottom, just like anybody else. And the force of the wave would most probably hold you under. Just like anybody else." Terra gulped. "Now your turn."

Okay, thought Terra. No problem, just concentrate, same as I do when I earth-move…. She concentrated, picturing her life-force flowing towards her feet, striving to bring the same power she had over the earth to her feet, but with water…

She cautiously stepped out onto the ocean. The shifting waves tickled her feet as the waves lapped against them. But she found she could stand on the surface of the water, as though she were standing on a very tough, very clear layer of cellophane. Occasionally, a wave would lap over her feet, but for the most part, she was standing on the ever-shifting surface of the water. "Whoa!" The waves shifted, and she almost lost her balance.

"Careful!" said Renseia, "Your life-force is only concentrated in your feet. If you fall, you'll sink."

"Yeah, but…wow! I can't believe I'm really doing this! Don't ask me how, but I'm doing it!" She laughed.

"You're doing great for a first try. It took your mother and me two days. The average time for an elemental is a week. I believe you have a natural aptitude for it." Like mother, like daughter, thought Renseia.

"So does that make me some kinda genius?" she asked slyly.

"Don't get cocky," Renseia cautioned. So much like her mother, there, too. "There's still a few things you have to learn. Now," she said, "for the lava." With a snap of her fingers, they were inside the caldera of an active volcano, on a small shelf of rock next to the flickering red surface.

Terra's breath caught in her throat. The sheer heat, not to mention the choking pyroclastic fumes, seemed to funnel straight into her eyes nose and face, making her cough. "Careful," said Renseia, "I'm keeping the majority of the heat and fumes off you, but I can't do it forever, or you'll never learn how on your own. So…now, concentrate, visualize the heat energy and push it away from you. I'll deal with the gases for right now."

So Terra concentrated, trying to picture the awesome heat as solid thing no hard task, given its sheer intensity, which she could feel, even though Renseia's protection , and pushed it outward, away from her skin. To her surprise, she found she could feel it, in a strange sort of immaterial way. It didn't want to go; she pushed harder…harder…

She could feel the waves of heat bending away from her, like light passing through a prism. The heat waves billowed around her like clouds, with an occasional gust striking her like a physical blow, but she kept at it, pushing, and finding out she could begin to anticipate the waves, in much the same way she could the waves of the ocean. They weren't visible, but she could sense them with a sense that wasn't sight or touch as she knew it but something like a weird combination of both. "Hey, I'm doing it! I'm actually doing it!" She turned her head to Renseia. "Now what about the walking on lava thing?"

"That part you don't really need to learn. Lava is, after all, rock, just in a molten state. You can walk on it as it is, but I wouldn't stand too long in one spot. You should know that."

"Oh, right. I forgot. Duh!" She whapped herself on her head. Here she was supposed to be the earthmover, and she'd forgotten a little detail like that. "Okay, here goes nuthin.'" And she cautiously stepped off the ledge onto the molten sea around her.

It was the strangest feeling, like walking on a really hard marshmallow. She could feel the surface give slightly, but nowhere near enough that she was worried about falling through. All around her, under her feet, was a shuddering, thrumming vibration that her geomancer's senses told her was the movement of the lava through the earth beneath her. She took another step. "Hey, this is easy! EEP!" An errant burst of flame from the molten lava around her feet caught her costume on fire, reducing it to ash in seconds, leaving her standing naked on the surface, trying to cover herself, her face turning as red as the lava.

Renseia was holding her sides, laughing, tears running down her face. "I t-told you not to get c-cocky!"

…

They teleported back to the Tower. Sweat was pouring off Terra, and not from the volcano's heat either. "I'm DEFINITELY for the showers, she said. "I'd hate for Garfield to catch a whiff of me now!"

Renseia laughed. "Yes, you definitely don't want your young man to be put off. Though, if what I'm sensing from him is true, you could probably smell like a skunk and it wouldn't faze him one bit."

Terra nodded, smiling. Her boyfriend could actually turn into a skunk, so she guessed that was a distinct possibility. Still…. "So what will you teach me next?"

"You'll need more practice with what you've learned today before we go any further. I know you did well….but one of the reasons why you did so well was, you were in close proximity to me. There's a kind of resonance effect between us: when you're in my presence—or the presence of one of the other Elementals—it helps you tap into powers and levels you might not be able to, just starting out. So at some point, you'll have to begin practicing on your own. Get to mastering the water technique, then maybe the lava. I wouldn't try to go lava until you've COMPLETELY mastered water. After all, you aren't invulnerable; any mistakes there could prove, er, unfortunate."

"Yeah." Terra thought about what could have happened had she not had Renseia to protect her from the volcano. She remembered the last time she'd dealt with a volcano; duped into working for Slade, she'd found herself the only thing standing between the city and complete destruction. She'd stopped the volcano…but at the cost of being turned into stone herself. She shuddered. It had taken a long time to recover from that. And that had been when she was most in control.

So, yeah, practice.

Renseia continued. "Next, there's some Summoning techniques for you to master, but Gevea needs to teach you something before that."

"Gevea?"

"Yes, Gevea. In a sense of the word, we are all sisters, so she's your aunt, too. And she has her own specialty.

Robin and Cyborg came around the corner. "Hey, welcome back. We were starting to get a little worried."

"Renseia's been training me. It wasn't easy." Terra said, shifting her towel. "'Scuze me, Rob, Cy. I'm for the showers."

"Hey!" Cyborg shouted at her retreating figure. "What kinda training did Renseia put you through?"

Terra half-turned, without slowing her pace. She definitely didn't want to run into Beast Boy while she was this sweaty. "Let's just say I can now walk on water and lava."

"What?" Cyborg stared in amazement. He turned to Renseia, just as Gevea came around from the other direction. "Was she serious? Water and lava?" Both Teen Titans remembered Terra's last, unfortunate encounter with lava.

"Yep," replied Renseia. "She's a remarkably quick study." Then she frowned slightly. "But she'll still need more training. I don't want her getting ahead of herself.'

At dinner, they shared the results of Renseia's training session. "Really?" said Raven. "Walking on water? And lava? In one day? I'm impressed."

Starfire turned to Solstice. "Is it really possible to walk on water? I have never heard of that ability, even among my people."

Solstice nodded, taking half the pizza slice in her hand in one mouthful. "It is if you're an Elemental. And Terra has Elemental genes. To us, walking on lava is really no different than walking on a sidewalk. The only real difference is the heat, and, of course, the fumes. But those are usually easily dealt with.

"And because lava is an element, and we have power over the elements, then the lava can't hurt us. That's how Terra was able to survive back when she stopped the volcano. Even though she didn't know it at the time, her Elemental nature protected her from the full force of the lava."

"I'd wondered about that," said Raven.

"So far, I've been teaching her the basic stuff. She's made quite a bit of progress, especially for a first time out." She smiled at Terra, who was sitting beside Beast Boy. Under the table, her hand found his, and she smiled at him. "Didn't know your girlfriend was so talented, huh, Gar?" Terra whispered to him.

He pecked her on the check. "It isn't your talents I'm interested in," he murmured, and she blushed.

Renseia continued. "So far, I've been teaching her the basic stuff. But tomorrow, I'd thought Gevea, here, could teach her how to go into Sage mode."

"Sage mode?" Solstice looked up, alarmed. "Don't you think that's a little premature? I mean, she is awfully young, just now coming into her full powers, and Sage mode is a pretty high-level technique."

Renseia nodded, still eating. "True, it's high-level, but I believe she can handle it, at least as long as one of us is nearby to lend a hand in case something goes wrong.

"Sage mode?" said Beast Boy, "What the heck is Sage mode?" Raven looked concerned.

"I'll explain," said Renseia. "Sage mode is an empowered state that can be achieved by blending natural energy with one's life force, creating what's called Natural Force. Sage mode basically allows users to tap into the natural force of the world."

"Wow," said Terra. "Sounds interesting. And hard."

"It is. It's very hard," said Solstice. She turned to Renseia. "Are you sure she's ready for something like this? I mean, usually it takes years for someone to master Sage mode."

Renseia nodded. "I'm sure she can handle it. You should have seen the progress she made today, and all on a first try, too. And nobody's saying she has to go all the way into the process, just start becoming familiar with it."

"Okay…" said Terra slowly. "But what does this have to do with the summoning technique you were going to teach me?"

"The summoning technique requires a great deal of life energy. If I were to teach you the summoning technique without going into Sage mode, it could be very dangerous for you. See, if all you have to draw on is your own life force, then summoning will drain that pretty fast. When that happens, it's not a pretty sight. But Sage mode will teach you how to mingle your life essence with that of the natural world, magnifying it immensely. So it's really safer to get familiar with Sage mode first." She struggled for the words. "Something like….plugging your cell phone in before you engage in any battery-draining operation. Except it's not really like that. But it sorta is."

"How dangerous is all this?" Robin asked suspiciously. He hated the idea of Terra being rushed into anything she wasn't prepared for. One look at Garfield confirmed that Terra's boyfriend felt the same way.

"Sage mode itself isn't that dangerous. It's a blending of one's own energy with a greater energy field. But summoning…that can drain a person's life force pretty quickly. My people learned that the hard way," she finished grimly.

"I see," said Terra, trying to digest it all. "So…how long would it take me to learn this Sage mode? You said years?"

"Normally. But if your progress today is any guide, it should take you about a week." Gevea nodded. "So get packed, and we'll leave tomorrow morning."

"Where are we going?"

Gevea just smirked. "I'll explain everything when we get there tomorrow. It's…kinda complicated." Terra just nodded. She'd decided, long ago, that she had to trust these three strange women. Even if they hadn't been relatives, they were the only ones who seemed to know about her powers, and how to keep them from killing anyone, including her friends. The incident with the ice was still fresh in her mind; what if Beast Boy had wandered in on her like that? She might now have a popsicle for a boyfriend. She shuddered at the thought.

"Well, in the meantime," said Robin, "It's a slow day, so we may as well relax a bit. Anyone up for a movie?"

The three Elementals joined them in the main rec room, where Beast Boy put on Wicked Scary versus Scary Wicked, The Final Chapter. Cyborg made popcorn and snacks, and the group settled down to be scared, horrified, and delighted, sometimes all at once.

None of them suspected they were being watched by three shadowy figures in a dark alley not far from Titans' Tower.

To be continued…

Hey guys sorry for the long wait I hope you like it please read and review.


	8. The Mythic Forest

Hidden Within the Earth, Chapter 8: The Mythic Forest

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A new update! Enjoy!

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I don't own the Teen Titans, of course.

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Chapter 8: The Mythic Forest

The next morning, Terra was packed and ready to go to wherever Gevea was taking her for the week. On the way down to the main room on the ground floor, she stopped by Beast Boy's room to say a special goodbye.

As they were kissing, he moved his hand alongside her head, up under hair. He so loved the feel of her hair. "Hope you aren't gone too long," he murmured into her ear. "I'm sure gonna miss you."

She smiled, resting her head on his shoulder. Ever since they'd first gotten together, it seemed like every moment they spent like this never lasted long enough. "Gevea says a week. Longer won't help, according to her, so a week it is." Pause. "I'm gonna miss you, too, Gar."

He chuckled. "Just don't catch the eye of any of those Elemental boys over there. I hear they can be pretty hot."

"Ah, now I know you've been into my 'Twilight' stash!" she laughed, then sobered. "Anyway, you needn't worry. From what Solstice is telling me, the guys over there wouldn't look twice at me. I'm a freak, a hybrid, a, a 'muggle.'" Now her face was turned down in a definite frown, and she half-pulled back from him.

He looked her in the face, shocked. "Seriously? They must be brain damaged. Or blind." Terra had dealt with the social problems that came from being labeled as "illegitimate" in the past; she was no stranger to the prejudices of "proper" people. He held her close once more. If only I could shield you from this, he thought. But he knew he couldn't.

But he could give her strength to overcome it.

And a place, and a home, and a person, to come back to.

"Well, from what Renseia is saying, you'll soon be able to bury 'em underneath a mountain range or two. Bet you'll look pretty good to 'em then."

Downstairs, the main guest room: "Hey, Gevea, sorry if I kept you waiting. Had to say bye to Garfield."

"Perfectly alright. I just got here myself," said the late-rising Elemental. She looked over the small duffle bag Terra was carrying. "So…that's all you'll need for a week?"

"As long as they have some way to wash my clothes over there. They do, don't they?"

"Oh, certainly. However, you may find your clothes don't get as dirty over there as you might think." Terra raised an eyebrow at this; Gevea just shrugged. "You kinda have to see it."

Raven chanced to be in the room, and now approached the pair. "So…Gevea. Where, exactly, is this place where you'll be training Terra?"

"For that matter," spoke up Renseia, "you haven't told me either."

Gevea smirked. "We're going to the Mythic Forest."

"'Mythic Forest'? What's that?" Cyborg asked.

"The Mythic Forest," began Gevea, "actually resides in a different dimensional plane. It's called the Mythic Forest, or the Enchanted Realm, depending upon who you talk to, because it's inhabited by creatures human beings consider mythical: elves, fairies, spirits, witches and many more, some of whom we will need to steer clear of."

"Witches?"

"Yes. The traditional kind, for the most part. Not all of them are really bad. We'll have more problems with the elves and the faeries. They're not like the Disney versions.

"But it's a perfect place for Terra to learn sage mode. Here, there are, can be…complications. They still exist there, but they're easier to work with, and seldom quite a fatal."

"And you two will be gone a whole week?"

"Yes. Like I told Renseia," she said, addressing both Cyborg and Raven, "more wouldn't help. In fact, it might hinder her somewhat."

"Oh? Why?"

"Because it IS on another dimensional plane. Anytime you shift dimensions, there's an adjustment period, which is usually minor. Usually. However, the longer one stays in the Mythic Forest, the more acclimated one becomes to it. Sometimes adjusting back to what humans call the 'real world' can be harder than one thinks."

"It sounds…a bit troubling," said Raven. "It sounds like it could be a dangerous place."

"There's no need to worry. As long as she's with me, she'll be fine."

"In that case," Renseia produced a small white crystal orb, about two inches wide, and handed it to Terra. "Here."

"What's this?"

"This," said Renseia, "is the magical equivalent of a cell phone. With it, you'll be able to contact us, those still here at the Tower, in the Earth realm. Your communicator won't work if you're in another dimension, after all."

"Oh. Of course." Terra hadn't really thought about that, but it made perfect sense. "Thank you. How do I work it?"

"Gevea will show you all about it. It's not hard."

Starfire ran over to her blond friend and crushed her into one of her bone-cracking hugs. "Oh, I will miss you so, friend Terra! Please be safe while you are in the Forest of Mythic!"

"Star…fire…can't…breathe…" Star noticed Terra was turning blue, and relented, apologizing. Everybody smiled. That was typical Starfire patented enthusiasm. They wouldn't have had her any other way.

"Well, Goldilocks, take care of yourself," said Cyborg, shaking her hand. "Use that crystal ball thingee often, let us know how you are."

"Yeah, do us proud," said Robin, also shaking her hand. The heck with this, thought Terra, and pulled them both into a hug. After all, she thought to herself, this is my family now.

"Good luck, Terra. And watch out for all those hot mer-men. They're nothing but trouble," said Raven, only half sarcastically.

"Hey, I've already got my guy," said Terra, pulling Beast Boy into one of HER patented squeezes.

"'M gonna miss you, T," he said, whispering in her ear.

"Won't be gone long, G," she said. "And when I come back, we'll celebrate." Her voice dropped to a whisper only he could hear. "Just the two of us. Kay?"

"Double Kay."

Downstairs: The Titans gathered around while Gevea opened the portal to the Mythic Forest. Raven, especially, was interested in just how this portal was generated.

With a gesture that looked like she was drawing a circle in empty space, Gevea concentrated, muttering a word under her breath that Raven couldn't quite catch. She stepped back, to reveal the portal—a cloudy circle—and gestured to Terra. "C'mon, Terra. Let's go."

With only one backward glance at Beast Boy, Terra stepped into the roiling clouds of the circle…

….and disappeared from their sight.

…..

Elsewhere…

Terra looked around in awe. "So this is the Mythic Forest?" It looked exactly like the forests drawn in the old Disney books, or the animated movies: an idyllic, rolling, lush green grassland bordered by a heavy wooded area. Over in the distance, hovering around some flowering bushes, Terra saw what she at first thought were bees, but then realized, with a start, that they had bodies very similar to hers, only much smaller.

"Those are pixies," said Gevea, just then coming up. "They're a kind of fairy. They're pretty good sorts…usually. Just don't get on their bad side. And they do have one."

"Uh…I'll try to remember that." Terra gulped. She could see the little creatures as versions of Tinkerbelle, in the old movie, Peter Pan, but she remembered that sometimes the smallest creatures had the nastiest surprises. That was how they stayed alive.

The sun was shining overhead. Terra had remembered it being overcast back in Jump City. Here, though, it seemed almost impossibly bright, radiating off the trees and flowers. At the edge of the forest, she saw two deer, a doe and a fawn, grazing unconcernedly, only paying the human and the Elemental very scant gaze. They clearly weren't afraid of people. "It's…so beautiful," murmured Terra.

Gevea chuckled. "Well, yeah. Right here it is. But there are places here in the Mythic Forest you won't want to go, at least, not yet. And, in some spots, it can be easy to get lost. But right here is safe."

"Gevea?" Gevea looked around at the sound of her name. "What can you tell me about sage mode?"

The Elemental hesitated. "Well, in sage mode, the user balances their own physical and spiritual energies with those present around them. Most disruptions occur when there's a serious imbalance in available energy, and it, well, gets out of hand, I suppose you'd say. Think of lightning. An imbalance in electrical charges in the atmosphere produces a huge spark. In sage mode, you learn to coordinate your own powers with that power around you, evening it all out. That way, you don't destroy the surrounding area. Too much. Plus it enables you to find your animal."

"Find my animal?"

"Everybody, and in particular, every user of magic, has an animal counterpart. Sometimes that counterpart may be in the form of a guiding spirit, or it may be in the form of an actual animal with whom you are attuned. Remember the common perception of 'witches' involves them as having animal 'familiars,' they were called, through which they focus and work their magic. Of course, in reality, it isn't quite like that.

"To give you an obvious example: your friend Raven's animal is, of course, a raven. Now, you've never seen her with a raven, nor have you ever seen her actually TURN INTO a raven, but you HAVE seen that as being a kind of theme with her. Sometimes the user may take on certain characteristics of that animal, or may be able to communicate with the wild version in some way." Gevea shrugged. "Most aren't quite that obvious, however. Hence the need to look for them."

"Sounds awesome! When do I start?"

"Don't get ahead of yourself. We've got a whole week, remember. The first thing to do is determine what your animal familiar is. And it could be anything. Don't be thinking it'll automatically be something romantic like a wolf or a hawk. It could be a wolf. It could also be an ant."

Terra scrunched up her nose. "My familiar could be an ant?"

"We don't choose these things; they just are, the same as you don't choose the natural color of your hair or eyes. And don't be so hard on ants. They have a lot of good qualities."

"Well, I didn't mean… Say. You mind my asking what yours is?"

"Mine's a frog." She saw Terra's look. "Hey, fall into a lake and 'frog' becomes very handy indeed. Plus it's really useful for finding some hiding and sleeping places."

Terra laughed. "Now I know why Renseia couldn't find you the other day!"

"Too right. What can I say? I like my naps."

They both chuckled at that. Then Terra sobered. "Gevea? What was my mother's spirit animal?"

Gevea thought for a moment, as though wondering how much to tell. Then, "Your mother's spirit animal—her familiar—was a cat. Cats are all about stealth, cunning, and power. And," she looked up, a quirky smile on her face, "naps, too. We had that in common."

"Did my mom learn about sage mode?"

Gevea nodded. "The three of us—and your mother—had been best friends since childhood."

Terra was silent for a moment. "Do you come here often, by yourself?"

"A few times. I've brought both your mother and my son here a couple of times. For training, same as you."

"You've a son? Renseia mentioned she has a daughter."

"Yes, too right." She smiled. "Boys can be a handful, but when a girl decides to be, she can outdo any three boys. Speaking of, Solstice has triplets." She made a face. "I don't envy her THAT workload."

"Three kids at once. Wow. That would be a handful. I'm not sure I could handle ONE."

"Two girls and one boy. They're about two years younger than you. And as for that other, well, you ARE a bit young yet. There's plenty of time for you to decide about families, yet. Er," she hesitated, then forged on. "Since we're on the subject…I hope you won't think I'm butting in, but…somebody has talked to you about…you know?"

"What do you mean?" Then she realized what Gevea was talking about, and laughed. "Oh, you mean THAT 'You know.' Yeah, actually Raven talked to me about that, back when I first joined the Titans. It," she blushed furiously. "It wasn't exactly news to me, but she, uh, filled in some gaps. Not," she hurried to add, "that, that there was any, y'know, NEED to. I mean, mine and Gar's relationship isn't, isn't…well, you know. To that point. Like that. I mean, we don't…uh…" She floundered, at a loss for words. "We don't do that!" she suddenly blurted out. There was a clearly unspoken "yet" on the end of the sentence.

Gevea laughed heartily, relief in her voice. "It's okay, Terra. I just had to make sure, you know. At this point in your life, having a baby might…well, I don't want to scare you, but, in your case, it might actually be dangerous."

"Dangerous?"

"Well, aside from you being…" And here Gevea gave Terra a look up and down her body, "just a trifle underweight, shall we say, there's the fact that your powers are just now surfacing. That's a bad time for ANY enhanced person to be pregnant. Your body is in a state of flux right now, and that could easily affect the baby. How it would affect it, is completely unpredictable.

"Oh, and by the way, you do know that Solstice, Renseia and I are all related, right? She told you about that? So, you can call me 'Aunt Gevea,' if you want. Or…just Gevea, if you like."

"Thank you. I…I think I'll stick with Gevea for now. That's okay, isn't it? Okay. I'm, uhm, kinda not used to the whole thing of actually having relatives. I mean, here for so long, the only relative I knew I had was one I wish I DIDN'T have." Meaning her abusive father, King Richard of Markovia.

"Not to worry, Terra. There's plenty of time." Gevea could understand. For so many years, the term "relative" had been synonymous with "pain and suffering."

"So, uh. Where, exactly will we be staying?" Terra looked around, but didn't see anything like an actual house.

"Right over there." Gevea pointed.

"Whoa," said Terra.

Although Terra had never had what anyone would consider a normal childhood, she'd heard kids talk about having a "treehouse." She'd long imagined such a thing: a haphazard contraption of boards nailed together to form a plank flooring with, if the kids were energetic enough and organized enough, perhaps some boarding around the sides to keep out the elements. This was not that.

This was an actual house built into a living tree. At the bottom of the trunk, where it met the ground, was a wooden plank door, with a doorknob and small window at head (for Gevea) height. Spaced upward were small glass windows with colorful drapes on the inside, pulled back against the clear sunlight. Terra couldn't see into the "treehouse," but somehow she knew the inside was just as cozy looking as the outside. And it looked strangely familiar…. "I know! I know where I've seen this before!" Once, many years ago, before she'd met the Titans, she'd sneaked into a movie, where they were playing, "Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day." The tree house Pooh had been sitting under looked startlingly like the one she now faced. Except this one was considerably bigger. "But it's huge!"

"It'll be our home away from home for a while now. So, yeah, good sized. Built it myself, I did." Gevea finished, proudly. "C'mon. I'll give you the grand tour."

"Built it? How did you build it? It's a living tree!" Terra looked at the green leaves sprouting from the upper branches overhead.

But Gevea was already opening the door—there was apparently no lock—and showing her inside. The inside was just as cozy and Disney-esque as she'd imagined. "It's not so hard when you work WITH the tree. Humans just tend to knock stuff down and cut it up. There's other ways."

Upstairs: Gevea opened a door to a small but sumptuous room. "This'll be yours. It's right across the hallway from mine. There are no locks; the doors just know you. So get settled in, and I'll go prepare dinner. It's getting late, so we'll have to begin your training tomorrow."

"Okay." Truth was, Terra wanted some time alone to herself to get used to the strangeness of it all.

Her mom. An Elemental. Magic. Other Elementals. Fire powers as well as water and earth powers, and God only knew what else. And her grandfather, who was apparently someone who made Darth Vader look like Dark Helmet from "Spaceballs."

So, she thought to herself, my mom's spirit animal was a cat? That was cool. Don't think I'd wanna be a frog, though, she thought. And of course, "raven" was already taken….

She wondered what hers would be. Please, God, don't let it be a flea, she thought, with a shudder. Or a rat. Or a snake. Or a…

Okay now, stop this.

But she was still thinking, ruminating over it all, after dinner. A hot shower, taken completely automatically (she didn't even wonder then, as she would later, where the hot water came from) and she was ready for bed. She fished out the oversized tee shirt Garfield had given her to sleep in, smiled at the picture of "Grumpy Cat" on the front. Hm. And her mom's spirit animal was a cat. Ironic, she wondered, or prescient? With magic in the picture, could anything be taken for granted?

Slipping it on, she flopped down on the bed. It sure was comfortable, and she felt herself beginning to drift off into sleep. All these powers? All these powers! ONE had been enough of a headache! The way my luck is going, she thought to herself as sleep began to overtake her, I'll end up being taught how to use the Schwartz.

Wait. I think only boys can use the Schwartz.

But that's discrimination.

No, that's biology. Er, physiology. Schwarziology?

No, that can't be right.

Oh, never mind…I'm too tired to think about it…. She turned over and drifted off to sleep.

And dreamed…

Terra found herself in the middle of the forest wearing a long white dress and white bandages on her hands and legs.

Bandages?

Where am I? she asked her sleeping self. A yellow butterfly wafted past her. For some reason, she found herself following it. Why not? Yellow butterflies were pretty.

The butterfly stopped at a cherry blossom tree in a small clearing. As Terra approached, she noticed a white fox at the edge of the clearing, sitting on its haunches, watching her. As she looked at it, trying to decide if it was friend or foe, she noticed it had nine tails.

A nine-tailed fox…why did that seem familiar?

The creature also had golden eyes and a mooncrest on its forehead. It came from around the tree where it had been sitting and approached Terra. Terra felt no fear or hesitation whatsoever, and walked towards the fox herself, intending to meet it halfway, when a bright light hit her eyes and woke her from her dream.

Terra shot up from her bed, almost gasping with surprise. A nine-tailed fox? What could that mean? Was that her spirit animal? But foxes don't have nine tails. Do they?

And what had awakened her? It was still dark outside…

Without really thinking about it anymore, she turned over and went back to sleep. Maybe in the morning, all this would make sense. Or at least more sense than it did now.

To be continued…

Thank you for being patient please read and review. P.S. happy holidays


	9. More New Friends

Hidden Within the Earth: Chapter 9: New Friends

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I don't own the Teen Titans. However Lilith and Ray are characters of my own creation.

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Chapter 9: New Friends

Two days had passed since Terra's departure. The Titans and the two Elementals were in the main room, with Robin and Cyborg playing some sort of video game. Cyborg keenly missed his little "Rock and Roller," as he'd fondly labeled Terra. She was the only one who'd ever been able to beat him at "Mutant Ninja Monkey Racing." Besides Beast Boy. And Robin. And Raven. And Starfire, once he explained to her that the monkeys were not supposed to be eaten. At least, not intentionally.

Starfire was telling Solstice about her home planet, Tameran, and the shapechanging Elemental could hear the longing in the alien princess's voice. I wish I could do something about that, she thought. But her powers didn't include space travel.

Renseia was busy making something over in one corner. It looked like she was sewing, but every so often, she'd lay aside the needle and thread, and just spread her hands out over the artifact in her lap, muttering something too low for the others to hear.

Beast Boy himself was only with them in body at the moment. Rather, he was standing by the window that overlooked the small waterfall, his expression distant and dreary. It was actually a good thing that he was up at all, and Raven watched him with a concerned eye. Was that his fourth or fifth sigh? She'd lost count. He'd been taking to sleeping in late a great deal lately, and it wasn't difficult to figure out why. He missed Terra terribly, but Raven knew there was no help for it. Once she'd even offered to play him in a game, one of the very games she so despised, just to get him out of his funk, but he'd just shaken his head and declined.

That was most DEFINITELY not like him.

"Yo, BB," Cyborg called out, after his fourth loss. "You gonna stand there and sigh all day?" Raven shot him a look. Couldn't he see his friend was troubled?

"Look, Gar," broke in Robin before Beast Boy could respond. "We all know you miss Terra. But just standing around all day, moping, isn't good for you. So come on. Here. Play Cyborg in something, anything. I'm tired of winning against somebody who's no challenge."

"I am too a challenge!"

"Are not."

"Am too!"

"Are not."

"Am too!"

"Look, guys," Beast Boy spoke up, "I appreciate what you're trying to do, but it's just no good. I mean, I know she's only been gone two days, but, but why hasn't she called? I thought that crystal ball thingy Renseia gave her would be able to do that."

"She's in a different realm than Earth, Garfield," said Solstice. "Technology only works very sporadically there, if at all. And, to further complicate things, sometimes time itself flows in different ways in other realms."

"Oh, great. That's all I needed to hear. So she's gonna be gone 'only a week'? But a week there might mean a year here? Boy, that really puts me at ease."

Solstice frowned. She wasn't used to hearing sarcasm from the normally cheerful Garfield. "That's not what I meant at all. A week there is a week here, but individual days may fluctuate. A day there might last, say, twenty-three hours, but that means the 'night' would only last one hour. Also, time isn't quite as consistent there. Tomorrow might be yesterday. But it all averages out. So, week there, week here. It all evens out."

"Oh. Okay." He looked so downcast she was moved to sympathy. "Sorry if I snapped at you."

"That's…alright. I understand, sort of, what you're going through." She thought for a minute. "I might need to give Gevea a call myself, see how she's doing. One thing about the Enchanted Realm, or any realm where time gets screwy, is, it sometimes plays havoc with your sleep cycle. If Terra's been used to getting her usual amount of sleep…aren't teenagers supposed to get anywhere from nine to ten hours? I mean, usually?"

"It varies with who you listen to," said Raven, speaking up for the first time. "Anywhere from seven to nine for adults, nine to ten for teens. But I'm sure it varies with individuals."

"Well, she really needs to be getting at least the amount of sleep she's been used to. Er….she HAS been getting enough sleep lately, hasn't she?"

All heads turned to Beast Boy. At first it puzzled him. "Why are you all looking at m-*" Then, "OH! Oh, uh, no, I mean, uh, yeah! She's been getting...I mean, we, you know, haven't…we don't…I mean, we've never…" He floundered, trying to find words while simultaneously blushing crimson, his cheeks turning apple-red, in stark contrast to his normal green complexion.

"It's okay, Gar!" Robin laughed. He turned to Solstice. "Yeah, no sleep problems here."

Change the subject, thought Solstice. "Say, Renseia. What are you working on so diligently over there?"

"I'm making some new clothes for Terra. She'll need them when she gets back."

"You could not simply buy them at the Mall of Shopping?" asked Starfire.

"Not clothes like these. These are especially designed to work with, and conform to, her powers both old and new. They're actually made out of some of the elements she'll have control over. That's especially useful in any sort of conflict or fight; ordinary clothes can get too easily torn, and then where are you? Can't fight the forces of Evil and Injustice naked, now can you? Well, I mean, technically you CAN, but…"

"I get the picture," said Raven, with a smirk aimed at a still red-faced Beast Boy, who'd just been handed yet ANOTHER reason to blush.

"So," said Cyborg, seeking to rescue Gar, "clothes made out of elements? I guess that saves a ton on materials." He chuckled.

"Well of course. We are, after all, practical creatures. And, remember, we've been making clothes like these since humans were still living in caves."

She continued. "You remember a while back, when Terra was learning to control her fire powers? In the volcano? And her clothes, uh…" She glanced at Beast Boy, who was doing his best not to listen. The mental pictures Renseia's words were calling up in his mind were…distracting, to say the least. "Well, uh, anyway, these won't do that. She herself was immune to the fire—an aspect of her powers—but her costume was not." She flipped out the garment she was working on. "These won't have that problem."

The Titans nodded, except for Beast Boy, who was still trying (and failing) not to listen.

Renseia changed the subject. "By the way, Solstice, did you bring some of that mythical fabric with you?"

"Of course. I guess you're going to add some of it to Terra's costume?" Renseia nodded.

Beast Boy was ignoring the conversation altogether. Anything that didn't involve Terra coming home, like, NOW, just couldn't hold his attention. "Friend Beast Boy," said Starfire. She'd flown right up beside him. His mood lightened slightly. Trust Starfire to sense his despair, even from across the room. "I am sure Friend Terra is well in the Forest of Mysteries! Please, no more of the sighing!"

"Star's right, man. Besides, Terra is with Gevea, so what can go wrong?"

"You DO know those sound like famous last words, right? They don't exactly help my anxiety." At that moment, the alarm went off, and the monitor showed the White Monster, Johnny Rancid, and Mumbo Jumbo hard at work in downtown Jump City.

"Titans! Trouble! We'll have to split up! Renseia, Beast Boy and Starfire, you three go after that white monster; Raven, you and Cyborg go after Mumbo. Solstice, you and I are gonna take on Johnny.

"Titans, Go!"

The Mythic Forest: Two days have passed. For the past five hours, Terra had been sitting, meditating, getting her mind and her thoughts in order. Gevea told her that this was often the hardest part, mostly because it was so much in the mind, rather than the body. "The body," she said, "is actually pretty easy to control. You have a given amount of strength, which can be increased by conscious activity. But the mind often seeks to distract itself, especially if it's under stress of any sort.

Already, Terra had learned far more about her own original geomancing abilities than she'd ever known. She could change the color and, to some degree, the content, of rock and earth, which was really cool. With concentration, she could control the movement of air around her…and was still nursing a bruise in an unmentionable place from when she'd tried to fly using that particular talent. "It's a little harder than it looks," smirked Gevea.

Fire, too, was…interesting. Being human, she had a healthy respect for it, but she'd learned to be able to change the color and type of flame, though she still needed an external source of flame. Gevea told her she'd be able, one day, to produce flame spontaneously, but that day was not yet.

There being nobody else there, she'd ditched her usual clothing for a black sports bra, knee-length shorts, and no shoes. She'd only brought one pair, anyway. Besides. This way, she figured, it would help her be more connected to the earth.

"Okay, Terra, that's enough for today," Gevea said, throwing her a towel and a bottle of water. Terra had been surprised to learn that Gevea had a good supply of bottled water. Wasn't the water here pure?—she'd asked. Gevea had just shrugged and muttered something about convenience.

Terra took big gulps of the water, and wiped her brow with the towel. Meditation was work! Or at least, this kind was. Gevea had told her that once she got the hang of it, it would get easier and easier, to the point where she could enter a meditative state easily and quickly. Once she mastered her powers, she wouldn't need to enter the state fully, but the mental disciplines would help her in controlling multiple abilities. "Thanks," she said, still gulping from the bottle.

Gevea smiled. "No problem. You improve a bit more with your powers every day. And you really picked up fire and wind fast. Even your mother took a while with fire."

"My mother." Terra stopped gulping water, and looked down at her hands. "Gevea…tell me about my mother."

Gevea shifted nervously. "Well, Renseia really should be the one to tell you about her…but I will tell you a few things. She was beautiful, just like her daughter." Terra blushed. She'd never actually been called "beautiful," except by Beast Boy, of course, and she'd always felt like that was just the standard flattery of a boyfriend towards his girlfriend. She just couldn't see her skinny self as beautiful. Really, she thought, where were the boobs? Would she EVER have any? "She was a spitfire, also just like her daughter. And," and here she hesitated, not meeting Terra's gaze, "she was always one to follow her heart. Even when it led her places she really shouldn't have gone." She looked up. "That's really about all I can tell you right now. Best not to get distracted. There'll be plenty of time for all that later.

"But…back to your training. I have to say, I was impressed by how you changed the type of fire."

"Type of fire? What do you mean?"

"Did you notice that fireball you had in your hand moments ago? You changed it from red to white."

"Yeah, so?"

"White fire is used for healing. It has no destructive ability. Try to use it for a weapon, and it won't do anything. Black fire, now—yes, there is such a thing—is destructive, very destructive. In fact, you'd best learn a whole lot more about fire before you even try to use that one; it can destroy everything around you in a heartbeat, way faster than any normal flames would."

"Thank goodness. I'm glad I didn't try to conjure black fire, then."

"Well, it's a little harder than the others, anyway. So there's time."

"So…" muttered Terra, as if to herself, "that's what Renseia meant by the TYPES of elements."

"Exactly." Now, let's knock off for a while. It's almost time for lunch. Hope you like fish."

"I like anything. Say, afterwards, would it be okay if I went for a stroll? Just to look around?"

Gevea hesitated. "I…suppose. But just keep in mind, there are parts of the Mythic Forest that…well, let's just say it's best to steer clear of them until you really know more about the place and its inhabitants. There can be things that seem harmless that are anything but. So, just stick close to the house."

…..

Terra went out into the small glade she'd dreamed about earlier. The different types of flowers and trees were astounding, especially to one who'd lived for a number of years in the desert outside of Jump City. She didn't see any yellow butterfly, but she did hear a commotion in the bushes that sounded like trouble.

Terra had never been one to just pick up and run from danger, at least without knowing what it was. Even back in California, when she'd been running from the giant scorpion, it had been with a plan in mind. Now was no different.

She picked up a blue rock and, hauling back her arm, threw it with all her might into the very thick of the bushes from whence the sound came.

Instead of whatever was making the noise being scared away, a huge wild boar broke out of the bushes. Its beady little eyes locked on her. "You again!" it said, and charged. Surprised, Terra turned and ran, doing her best to outdistance the boar. It was looking to be a losing battle; the boar was faster on its feet than she was, when she thought, wait, what am I doing? D'oh! She hopped onto a nearby rock, and levitated to safety, leaving the boar chuffing on the ground, looking up at her. It still chased her for a while, even though she was airborne, but Terra had no trouble outdistancing it from the air. "Come back here!" it bellowed up at her.

"What're you, nuts?!"

But finally, when it was only a small speck behind her, the boar turned and trotted off into the bushes, grumbling to itself: "…woods ain't what they used to be, bimbos runnin' around, stealin' yer stuff, chuckin' rocks at innocent wildlife…" Note to self, thought Terra: do not, repeat DO NOT chuck any more rocks at any more strange noises in the woods. That was when she noticed that she was in a different part of the forest. She looked around.

She was surprised by the difference in the forest. It was darker than the grove she'd left, the trees seemed to be dying or already dead, and a dense, black fog hung over everything, somewhat resembling the horror movies she used to watch with Beast Boy.

Thinking of Beast Boy brought a pang of longing to her heart. She'd only been here two days and it already seemed like a lifetime. Maybe she should try to call him with that crystal orb Renseia had given her?

But in spite of her longing, she was beginning to get a trifle worried. Just how far had she come, anyway? She hopped on the boulder again, rose up and looked around, trying to find Gevea's treehouse. But it was nowhere in sight. "I think I lost more than the boar," she muttered to herself. Now what? She didn't know if the sun, now beginning to sink down, was supposed to set in the west or not, here in this world. She supposed it did, but she'd forgotten to take note as to which way she'd come. Had she flown east or west?

From above, all the trees looked the same, so she landed the boulder and set out walking, using the setting sun as a guide. She was guessing she'd come west, so if she walked with her back to the sun…

After about an hour of fruitless walking, she felt a prickling sensation in the back of her neck. She glanced around, nervously; it felt like she was being watched. "Hello? Is someone there?"

Nothing.

Still the sensation persisted. "Hello?" she called again. Maybe it was Gevea, playing a prank on her. She knew the Elemental wasn't above doing such things.

Suddenly a flock of birds burst out from behind a nearby tree. She gasped, but then settled down, blowing out a sigh of relief. Of course. It was just a bunch of stupid birds. That's when she heard the heavy breathing.

Right.

Behind.

Her.

Slowly, she turned around. Her eyes bugged almost out of her head when she saw the creature behind her. It was huge, with the body of a lion, wings like a bat, a mouthful of shark-like teeth, and a large, curved scorpion-like tail emerging from its nether end. The stinger on the end of it looked far more wicked that anything really had any right to be, she thought, even through her surprise. As she stood there, in shock, it started to growl.

All by themselves, Terra's feet insisted on taking a few steps back. That was a mistake. Sensing weakness, the thing began to chase her around and around the husk of a dead tree. Its tail was apparently capable of shooting razor sharp spikes, and it proved to be very eager to demonstrate that feature. Perhaps overly eager, thought Terra. "I don't believe this!" she shouted as she ran. "First I get chased by a talking wild boar, now I'm getting chased by a, a whole zoo full of creatures!"

One of the spikes gashed her leg, causing her to fall, striking her head. Her vision swam for a moment, focusing just in time to see a blast of red energy shoot out from the side, hitting the creature in the head, knocking it head over tail into the bushes.

Her last conscious thought was to wonder where that red blast came from.

…

Gevea had just finished making supper for her and her student. She was making grilled fish, mushroom stew, and a side of home-made bread. As she readied everything, it occurred to her that Terra had been gone for some time now. Where could she be? Perhaps, she thought to herself, I'd best go check on her.

Gevea was just exiting the house when she noticed a short man wearing a bright green jacket and pants, black shoes with golden buckles, a bright green hat. His red beard matched his hair. He was standing just at the edge of the wood, looking around, with what appeared to be a puzzled look on his face.

Uh oh, thought Gevea. Leprechaun. She knew leprechauns sometimes played pranks on people, especially girls, and wondered if the creature had something to do with Terra's tardiness. If he has, I'll blast him into next week, she thought to herself. But it was possible he'd seen Terra, so she went up to him.

"Have you, by any chance, seen a blond haired girl around here?" she asked. "About 5' 1", long blond hair, blue eyes, tendency to get into a lot of trouble faster than anybody else in three contiguous dimensional planes?"

"Hm….blond haired girl, blond haired girl….seems like I did. Running from a wild boar, she was. But that was last week. No, wait, that was just a few minutes ago. Last week it was a wild boar running from a blond haired girl. Running for its life, too. The boar, I mean, not the blond girl. Yes, that's what it was. This week, blond haired girl running from wild boar. I'm sure of it."

"Would you happen to know," asked Gevea cautiously, "what direction this took place in?"

"It was right over there." He pointed. "No, wait…it was right over there." He pointed in a different direction. "No….come to think of it….it was over in that direction…." Gevea was beginning to get a little exasperated with the leprechaun's shoddy memory. "Strawberries! Oh, yes! I remember now! I was picking strawberries! That would mean it would be somewhere where there were strawberries! Of course!"

"You just described about half the Mythic Forest."

"Oh." The leprechaun scratched his head. "I did, didn't I? But wait. It was in an area where there were a whole bunch of dead trees."

"Are you sure?"

The little man stood up taller. "I'm a leprechaun, madam. I know my trees."

"That's an elf."

He scratched his head some more. "It is?"

"Er, yes. Elves are nemophiles, lovers of trees and woodlands. Leprechauns are chrysophiles. Lovers of gold."

"They are? I mean, we are?"

Well, at least that's something, thought Gevea, rolling her eyes. "Thank you. I'll give that a try."

Gevea immediately headed east, castigating herself for letting Terra run off like she did. As she walked along, a demon leaped at her from behind; without looking around, she brought her fist up, connected solidly with its enormous nose, and sent it rolling head over heels back into the forest. She didn't even notice she'd done this.

Terra. Where oh where…? "Terra! If you're out here, give me a sign! Throw up a rock, shoot up a ball of fire, something!" Then she thought: wait a minute. I'm an Elemental. I can dope up my OWN sign.

With a word and a gesture, she cast the spell, and…

….a yellow butterfly appeared, wafting in from the forest. What the hey? Oh, well, she thought. A sign is a sign. With a barely audible sigh of resignation, she followed the butterfly through the dark woods.

Terra awoke with a groan.

She had no idea how long she'd been passed out. Let's see, she thought. Memory. Stupid talking wild boar. Stupid—whatever it was chasing me. "I seem to be getting chased a great deal these days, and not in the way a lot of girls like to be," she muttered to herself.

"Indeed you have," said a voice to her side. Terra started. She hadn't realized she's spoken out loud, or that there was somebody else here. "I can't answer for the wild boar, but I can definitely assure you that getting chased by chimera is the sort of experience most people go a long way to avoid. And while I get the impression you've come a long way, I doubt it's been in the direction you intended to go." The voice was a kind of "relieved monotone." It reminded her a lot of Raven.

She looked up and to her left. Sitting on a low stool by her was an attractive young woman—woman? She couldn't have been more than….than….well, something about her defied actual categorizing. She could have been anywhere from fifteen on up. But, thought Terra, definitely not very old. She was quite remarkable looking, with long violet hair, pale grey skin color (again, Terra was reminded of Raven; she wondered if there was a connection), golden eyes. These last were fixed upon her. As Terra looked up, she noticed her leg was bandaged up. "Where am I?" she asked. She remembered the giant beast's spiked tail…of course. Hence the bandage.

The violet haired stranger flashed her a brief smile. "You know, it's rude to stare at someone."

"Oh. Sorry," apologized Terra. "It's just…you…look a lot like someone else I know?"

A raised eyebrow. "Do I, now?"

"Uhm, yes. I, I don't mean that in any bad way." She gestured to her leg. "I'm guessing you put that there. Thanks. I thought I was a goner."

The woman crossed her legs. Terra noticed she was wearing sturdy but fashionable-looking black boots with a matching black cape. A comfortable and loose-fitting red pants-suit completed her outfit. It actually looked rather stylish, taken altogether. She was the first person Terra had seen wearing black since coming here. "You nearly were. Encroaching on chimera territory is usually fatal for humans."

Terra sat up, groaning again. "I didn't know I HAD. I certainly wouldn't have done so on purpose."

The strange woman gave her a curious look. "You've never been to this part of the Mythic Forest before?"

"No. I've only been here—well, not here, but in the Mythic Forest—for about two days now."

"Ohhhh. Well. That explains a few things."

"It does? Like what?"

The woman turned evasive. "Nothing of any great importance." She changed the subject. "So you're new here to the Darkwoods. That, uh, does explain few things. I'm Lilith, by the way." She held out her hand in an old-fashioned manner, and Terra shook it.

"I'm Terra. I guess I have you to thank for my rescue?"

"Well, yes. I could tell you were in deep trouble. Tell me, I don't mean to pry, but does this sort of thing happen to you a great deal?"

Terra grimaced, holding her head. "More than I like, it seems."

The young woman took on a pensive look. "Maybe you have bad luck. There's charms for that. I'd advise you to get one."

"They actually make good luck charms? Real, working good luck charms?"

"Oh, yes. Though they only work consistently here in the Mythic Forest. In any human realm, their effect is, er, limited." She saw Terra's expression, and gave a slight smirk. "Oh, yes. I can tell you're human. Though not all human, it seems. I detect some….interesting….differences in you."

"Yeah, I'm coming to understand a few things about those 'differences.'" She changed the subject. "So, uhm. Now I'm the one that doesn't mean to pry, but, but…how did you…? I mean, the last thing I remember is a big flash of light. Are you another Elemental?"

"An Elemental? Goodness, no. Actually—and don't be nervous—I'm a vampire."

Terra gasped. She'd seen a glimpse of fangs when the woman had smiled, but it hadn't registered. "A vampire? Really? Hey, I LOVE the 'Twilight' series!"

The woman grimaced. "Oh, please. It's really not like that. But I guess that series HAS had one positive side effect: humans don't think of us as monsters anymore. Well, most humans."

"Yeah, I guess that would be a big plus. Uh, you're, uh, not gonna…." Her hand went to her throat.

Lilith laughed. "Oh, no. Believe me, you're safe. I, uh, don't, I believe the human expression is, 'swing that way.' After all," she continued, somewhat primly, Terra thought, "a vampire's bite IS our primary means of reproduction. And most of us were human at one time."

Terra's eyes widened. "OH. I, uh, get what you mean." She relaxed a bit. "Well, uh, where am I?"

"You're here in my house. I brought you here and fixed you up. A chimera's stinger tail is sometimes poisonous, so I took no chances. While you were out, I put a general purpose healing spell on you." Lilith shrugged. "You might not have needed it, but better safe than sorry."

"Oh, believe me, I'm not gonna complain." Terra noticed that even her headache was receding rapidly. "I didn't know vampires knew healing spells. Come to think of it, I didn't know vampires could shoot energy bolts like that."

Lilith turned a bit evasive. "Well, ah, that's….not strictly due to my vampire side. You see—and again, don't get nervous—I'm also half demon."

Unexpectedly, Terra laughed. Lilith raised an eyebrow. "You find that funny?"

"No, no," said Terra, regaining control of herself. "It's just….for some time now, everything and everybody I've met has been half this and half that, with a touch of this or that thrown in for good measure. Including me!" She giggled again. "I'm sorry, I wasn't laughing at you." She paused and sobered a bit. "So, uhm. Where, exactly, am I? I think I came a long way."

"You probably did. Where were you before?"

"Uhhhh…" Terra thought, wracking her brains. She'd never thought to ask Gevea just where they were! "I was over at the house of an Elemental named Gevea. Does that help?"

"Hm….I have heard of an Elemental named Gevea, but last I heard, she'd gone on some sort of pilgrimage to the human dimension. My information is probably outdated, though." She thought for a moment. "Give me a little time to tidy up and I'll take you to her. Or at least, her last known coordinates."

"Great!"

Soon Terra and Lilith were walking through the dark woods. Terra was looking nervously around her—this place reminded her of that spooky forest scene in the old movie, The Wizard of Oz—but she felt a bit better with Lilith by her side. And she perked up a bit when she remembered that she wasn't totally defenseless herself. "Lilith?"

"Hm?" The half-vampire was strolling along confidently. She was evidently in her element.

"Have you ever heard of something called black fire?"

Now Lilith stopped, and turned to her, eyes wide. "Where did you hear about that?"

"Oh, it's…well, it's really nothing," stammered Terra, a bit intimidated by Lilith's look. "It's just…I'm told I can create it, or summon it, or something like that." More alarm spread across Lilith's face. "I haven't, you understand." Lilith relaxed somewhat. "I'm just told I can. Frankly, from what I've heard about it, I'm afraid to."

"Good. Black fire is just about the most destructive force known to magic. It's almost uncontrollable, and, when not properly controlled, can even drain the life-essence of the one who summoned it. Has Gevea been teaching you how to produce black fire?"

"Goodness, no! She pretty much told me just what you just did. But she did tell me I had the ability to produce it, to call it. I figured I'd better know exactly what I'm doing before I even try."

"You certainly had. Even then, I'd hesitate."

"By the way," said Terra, both by way of changing the subject and for her own informational purposes, "won't you have to go into some sort of trance during daytime?" They'd begun walking early that morning, before sunrise.

"Not immediately. Because of my heritage, I can tolerate more sunlight than most vampires, but I will have to seek shelter during the hottest, sunniest part of the day. Fortunately, there are a couple of places nearby we can use. And no, I don't really HAVE to enter a trance state…but it sometimes helps."

On and on they went. Lilith explained to Terra that the Darkwoods was full of less-than-savory creatures and beings that she really should steer clear of. Terra was beginning to feel lucky just to have met only the boar and the chimera.

"…and the manticore. You definitely want to watch out for that one's sting. The slightest drop is death. But they live in a far-north, northeastern part of the Darkwoods."

"Why is everything so dark here, anyway? All the trees seem dead."

"Years ago, a powerful wizard placed a curse on this area of the woods. Nobody really remembers why; that might have been part of the curse. Anyway, nothing grows naturally here. Plant something and it comes up looking funny. There's something in the soil, maybe. At least, that's the story." She half-turned to Terra. "Now I've a question for you. When you first woke up, you said I reminded you of someone you knew. Who was it?"

"A friend of mine back on the world I come from, Jump City, Earth. Her name's Raven. You two both have violet hair and pale gray skin. And, also, she kinda sounds like you." She shrugged. "I wasn't trying to insult you or anything. You just kinda reminded me of her."

"Raven, Raven….where have I heard that name?" Lilith had paused momentarily, put her finger to her chin. "That name is familiar. I've heard it somewhere before."

"Anyway, like you, she's half demon. Her father was Trigon."

Lilith's eyes widened so wide Terra was afraid they were going to fall out of her head. "Trigon?! Your friend is the DAUGHTER OF TRIGON? She's THAT Raven?"

"Er, yes. Uhm, is that—*" But Lilith had zoomed in on her, placed a thumb over her upper eyelid, and was examining her eyes. "You haven't been possessed lately, have you?"

"No, Lilith, I haven't! What's with this?"

"I'm trying to see…no redness in the eyes, no glow I can detect. You seem okay." She let Terra go. "Demons as powerful as Trigon—or, I presume, his daughter—you can never be too careful around. I wouldn't get within a dimension's reach of her, if I could help it."

"Really, she's cool. She helped us defeat her dad. I mean, I, personally, wasn't there—I was a stone statue at the time—but I heard she really did a number on him. In fact, it might be due to all that that I got turned back to human again. Or what passes for human in me."

"You were a stone statue?"

"Yeah. It's kinda a long story."

Lilith shook her head as they resumed their walk. "I would DEFINITELY see about getting that charm."

….

The day wore on, and Terra could tell the heat of the sun was beginning to take its toll on her new friend. "You said there were some places we could hole up in, along here?"

"Yes. There's several caves nearby. Last I heard, they were unoccupied. If they're not," she paused, making a motion of rolling up her sleeves, "we'll just have to see what we can do about that."

The waterfall they came upon was beautiful. It looked like something out of a picture postcard, thought Terra. One that said, "Wishing you were here." Once again, she was reminded of Garfield, and her breath hitched slightly. Lilith didn't seem to notice. "We can take a break here," said the half-vampire, pointing towards a patch of darkness right by the waterfall. Straining her eyes, Terra could see the mouth of a small cave. It looked cool and inviting.

The cave proved to be uninhabited. The two sat on a couple of low rocks within the cave. "So, Terra. You're from the Earth dimension?"

"Yes. Jump City, to be precise. I wasn't born there—Jump City, I mean—but it's my home now. All my friends are there…including one SPECIAL friend."

"Ohhh….I see." Lilith's eyebrow rose. "A SPECIAL friend, huh? Well. That's good. What's he like?"

"A real jokester. Never a dull moment around him. I think his favorite pastime is annoying Raven. And her favorite pastime is morphing him into a rat when he annoys her."

Lilith laughed. "I'd like to be a fly on the wall seeing that. They must have quite a relationship."

Terra sobered. "Yeah. You know, I…used to think there might be something between them, y'know? But…" She didn't know how to finish that sentence.

"From what you've said, it doesn't sound like it. It sounds almost like a brother-sister relationship. Not that I know much about humans; my mother always said they were a weak and cowardly lot. Sorry," she said to Terra's look, "I guess us supernatural creatures aren't immune to prejudice."

"So how do you feel? About humans, I mean?"

Lilith shrugged, her slim shoulders moving beneath her blouse. "Actually, I've never really known any humans. Not on anything more than a, you know, er, food basis. Sorry, but it's true."

"It…it's okay. I mean, I guess you haveta, y'know, eat too." But she couldn't help but make a face. Change the subject, Terra. "What about your dad?"

"He…comes and goes. Oh, I guess he tries to be a good parent, but you know. That's the thing about demons: they're not exactly the stay-at-home types. Too much restless energy. And, frankly, not exactly the most trustworthy sort, either. For the most part. Though I will say Dad does try to behave. He seems to be better at it than most of the others I've met. I think having a kid sorta settled him down.

"But he sure gets nervous a lot. Especially," she quirked a smile, "if any boys come around. Maybe he's remembering his own younger days."

"Yeah," said Terra. She looked out of the cave mouth, her eye focused on something afar off. "I never really had any friends until I came to Jump City. I'm afraid my home life, er, left a few things to be desired."

Lilith sat in the cool darkness, studying her. "Sounds like you had a rough upbringing."

Terra picked up a small flat rock and sent it skipping out across the water. Because of the waterfall, it wasn't possible for it to go far, but it still managed to make five or six skips. "If you wanna call it that. My father REALLY believed in the 'spare the rod and spoil the child' principle. Let's just say he was REALLY DETERMINED that I wouldn't be spoiled." She couldn't keep the anger and bitterness out of her voice.

"People like that give humanity a bad name."

"They sure do. First chance I got, I made tracks. Purely out of survival. He'd a'killed me, if I'd stayed."

Again Lilith studied her intently, her eyes glowing softly in the gloom of the cave. "But you're free of him now. And you have people, friends, who'll stand beside you, stand with you. You're not alone anymore."

"I…I know." A small tear leaked down her face, and she angrily wiped it away. "Sorry."

Lilith smiled and put a hand on Terra's arm. "Don't be sorry. If you didn't feel anything like that, you wouldn't be normal. Feeling that emotion just shows you're more okay than you think."

The two just sat there for a moment. Then Terra noticed a commotion out in the water. As she watched, a large, scaly fish tail broke the water's surface. "What's that?" she asked, a bit apprehensively. So many things here seemed to be dangerous.

But a great many things…a great many people, she thought, looking at Lilith…weren't.

"Oh, that's a friend of mine. Ray! Over here!" She stepped out to the water's edge.

The fish tail disappeared and a boy's head and upper torso appeared. He was almost inhumanly handsome, with spiky red hair and bright blue eyes. And, Terra noticed, with a certain twinge of guilt, his shirtless upper torso was definitely easy on her eyes. "Hey, Lilith! What brings you out this way?"

"Taking somebody home. Ray, this is Terra. Terra, Ray. He's of the merfolk."

Terra's eyes widened. Now that her attention was drawn to it, she could see the human upper half disappearing into the green scaly fish lower half. There wasn't any sharp division between the two, rather a gradual melding. "Uh, h-hello."

The merman moved into the shallow water, and rested his chin on his elbows, looking at her with what looked like considerable appreciation. "Well, hel-LOW there, bee-YOU-tiful! Where have YOU been all my life?"

"Don't listen to him," said a voice bubbling up out of the water behind Ray. "He thinks he's God's personal gift to anything without a prostate." And with that, a beautiful blond woman's upper half broke the water. Terra stared as she watched the mermaid come up alongside Ray. "I'm Lucy, by the way. I'm Ray's sister. AND his keeper, sometimes." She turned to Ray. "How many times have I told you not to hit on all the girls you see?"

"I can't help it! It's in my genetic code! It's in yours, too, for that matter. Only the other way around."

"AT LEAST I can control myself."

"That wasn't what that last guy said. I never saw anybody who just couldn't stop smiling before."

"Ah-HEM," broke in Lilith, "Just for the record, Terra, here, is a new arrival. We're trying to find an Elemental named Gevea. Lilac hair and eyes? Looks to be about twenty?"

Both merfolk took on a pensive look. "Hm. Lilac hair…lilac eyes. Twenties. Don't think I've seen her. I think I'd remember somebody like that. And, uh," said Ray, buffing and examining his fingernails in a rather self-congratulatory way, "I'm pretty sure she'd remember ME, too."

"The last time I saw anybody THAT FULL of themselves, they exploded." Lucy stared at her brother with disgust.

"Hey, if you got it, flaunt it."

"No comment." Lucy looked at Terra. "What?"

Terra started. She'd been staring at the two. "I'm sorry. I've just never seen…I mean…"

"Well," said Ray, "It IS the Mythical Forest. You have to expect to see some mythical creatures here. And we merfolk are only one of the many peoples that inhabit this realm."

His sister glanced at him, then turned to Terra. "Well, ACTUALLY, if you want to get right down to it, we're fish."

Ray turned to her. "We're intelligent and self-aware. That makes us people."

"Our ancestors were fish. We evolved from fish. We're still fish, just highly evolved fish."

"But we're PEOPLE, Lucy. I mean, come on! You can't just say we're FISH!"

"Of course we're fish. I'm proud to be a fish."

"Look, biology doesn't matter. What matters is our minds and the way we perceive ourselves as individuals. We're PEOPLE."

"You would deny your heritage? We're FISH!"

"You would deny reality? We're PEOPLE!"

"We're fish!"

"We're people!

"Fish!"

"People!"

"Fish!"

"People!

"Fish!"

"People!"

"C'mon, Terra," said Lilith with a sigh, "Let's go back into the cave. They'll be at this a while."

"Fish!"

"People!"

"Fish!"

"People!"

Back in the cave: "Er, do they do this a lot?" Terra kept an apprehensive eye on the pair outside.

Lilith sighed again. "Yep. It's an ongoing thing with them. Almost a hobby. Don't worry; they'll work it out soon."

"Fish people!"

"People fish!"

"See?" said Lilith, "they're already making progress. Give 'em another ten, fifteen minutes, and they should be good."

"…fish people fish people fish people fish people fish people fish people fish people fish people …" The two outside were wrestling in the shallow water, grappling with each other, slapping each other with their tails.

Terra hung her head and chuckled. "This is SUCH a crazy place."

"Believe me, Terra, you don't know the half of it."

After a while, the sounds of conflict from outside quieted down, and Terra and Lilith emerged to find Ray sunning himself on a flat rock near the water's edge. Again Terra marveled at how seamlessly his lower half merged with his upper half. "Your sister leave?"

"Yeah. She had some things she had to do. She collects sea shells. Sells 'em by the seashore, she does. Never quite figured out why."

"Well, ANYway," said Lilith, "do you suppose you could help us find Gevea? I need to get Terra, here, back home. This Gevea's probably worried sick."

He leered at the half-vampire. "Sure. Just give me a kiss first."

She made a fist and held it in front of his face. "I'll give you THIS first!"

"Awright, already. Geez. Don't pop an artery. Hang on." And he dove back into the water, heading for a small clump of bushes that were hanging over the water. Terra saw them begin to rustle, and presently, Ray, now with a human lower torso, emerged, shaking the water off. He now wore a pair of men's stretchable fabric swim trunks. Terra couldn't help but notice they were EXTREMELY tight around his butt. No doubt, she thought to herself, that was not entirely coincidence. But with her, it only served to remind her of how long she'd been away from Beast Boy. His swim trunks were pretty tight, too…in all the right places. "Okay, I'm ready. Er, this IS a land thing, isn't it?"

"Yes. And thank you," said Lilith. She turned and gazed at the surrounding woods, a thoughtful expression on her face. "Hm. I THINK it's in this direction." Off they went.

While they walked, Lilith quizzed Terra on her training. "So exactly what kind of things has Gevea been teaching you?"

Terra shook her head in remembrance of those grueling sessions. "Too many to think of at one time. It seems I've got powers I didn't even know there were names for, before now. But one thing she has been stressing is, my control over the four classic elements: earth, air, fire, and water." She half-turned to Lilith. "That was when it came up about the black fire."

"What's this about black fire?" asked Ray, alarmed. "That stuff's dangerous with a capital 'D.'"

"That's what Gevea tells me, and, frankly, from what everybody tells me about it, it's gonna be a looooong time before I even attempt to summon THAT stuff."

"Good deal."

The woods were beginning to look more and more familiar. "Say, Ray," Terra asked, "how did you change like that?" Looking at his lower torso.

He glanced down. "Ah, it's just a thing we do. No big. Really, the most troublesome part is making sure to get the feet the same size. If you don't, it makes it sheer hell to buy shoes."

"By the way," said Terra, "I don't know if I said this earlier or not, but thank you both for helping me. Not only would I have been a goner with that chimera, but you're both taking time off to help me find my way back. That's very nice of you."

Ray waved it off. "Hey, no problem. I mean, you get right down to it, that's what it's all about anyway. People helping people, right?"

From what sounded like an incredibly long distance off, from the direction they'd come from, the trio could hear a very faint "We're fiiiiiiiissh!" Terra and Lilith both giggled, while Ray just rolled his eyes.

Lilith spoke up again. "So…this training of yours. What else does it include? I know Gevea's taught you about white fire; that's the best kind."

"Oh, yeah. I didn't even know what I was doing, at first. Good thing I didn't try to change the colors to black…if that's the way to do it. Gevea says I need to learn about something called sage mode before I can even begin to think about that."

"Sage mode? That's pretty advanced stuff. But yeah, she's right; black fire is REALLY dangerous. It not only destroys, it can spread, even over non-combustible stuff like rocks.

"Have you found your animal yet?"

"Ah…I'm not sure. I had a dream about a fox that had nine tails…"

"A nine-tailed fox?" Both Ray and Lilith stared at her in awe.

"What?"

"A nine-tailed fox is legendary, even around here! If your animal is a nine-tailed fox, that means you must have some very special destiny. Do you remember where, in your dream, you saw it?"

"Yeah, it was right by a big cherry tree. I remember 'cause I was thinking about eating some of them."

"Hm," said Lilith. "Cherry tree. There's one—a big one—not far from here." She altered their direction slightly, heading off to the left. It was beginning to get dark, and a full moon had risen. Terra thought she'd never seen one so beautiful. Was this the same one in the Earth dimension? But how could it be? It looked the same.

"There," said Lilith, pointing. "That's the cherry tree I was telling you about. Is that it?"

"It…it looks like it. It looks just like the one in my dream." They moved into the clearing. Terra noted that there were what appeared to be growths of crystals all around the clearing, centering on the cherry tree. She hadn't remembered that from her dream…

Then she gasped, and the others turned towards her. They followed her gaze…

Seated beneath the cherry tree was the same white fox she'd seen in her dream. Nine tails sprouted from its backside, swishing back and forth in the cool evening air.

Terra walked up, completely unafraid, to the animal. She stopped at five feet away and knelt down on one knee in front of it. Without any hesitation whatsoever, the fox approached her, coming right up to her. She reached out and began to pet it, smiling.

"I'll be damned," murmured Lilith. "A nine-tailed fox. A real nine-tailed fox. I never thought I'd ever see one. I thought they were, well, mythical."

"Well," said Ray, himself a bit stunned at seeing an animal he'd always been told didn't exist, "this IS the Mythical Forest, after all. I guess it stands to reason there'd be mythical creatures—not to mention all kinds of mythical people—here."

From an impossibly vast distance away: "And fiiiiiiiish!"

…

Gevea was becoming concerned.

She'd followed the yellow butterfly deep into the woods without seeing any trace of Terra. Where could she have gone in such a short length of time?

Hm. There was a clearing up ahead, and she could see the glow of what looked like some chroma crystals. As she got closer, she could hear voices.

…

"So," said Ray, still stunned, half-kneeling in the middle of the clearing. "this is your animal, huh? Well. That's…remarkable. I've never heard of that."

"I…guess it is," Terra said, scratching the fox behind the ears. It seemed to enjoy the attention, turning its head first one way, then the other, for maximum benefit. "Sure wish Gevea was here to see this."

"Terra!" A familiar voice rang out from the tree line. Gevea rushed into the clearing and grabbed Terra in a bear hug reminiscent of Starfire's own. "I've been looking all over for you! Where have you been?"

"Sorry, Gevea. I kinda got chased by wild boar. Guess I ran a bit too far." She extracted herself from Gevea's hug and gestured to her new friends. "I also got chased by a chimera, and if it hadn't been for Lilith, here, I'd have been a goner. She saved my life."

Lilith inclined her head towards Gevea, acknowledging the Elemental. "So you're Gevea. Terra's told me a lot about you."

Gevea raised an eyebrow. "Hope it was only the good stuff. So. It seems I have you to thank for saving my niece's life." She stuck out her hand, and the vampire shook it. "I can't thank you enough for taking care of her."

"My pleasure. I don't like seeing people get hurt."

"Oh, and Gevea!" Terra turned to Ray. "This is Ray. He's a merman. He was nice enough to take time out to help me get back. Wasn't that nice of him?"

"Yes, it was," said Gevea, approaching Ray. "Thank you for helping Terra."

"'Twas my pleasure, milady," said Ray, with a courtly bow. He took Gevea's outstretched hand in his and kissed the back of it, like a knight of old. Terra thought Gevea blushed, ever so slightly. "For such beauty, I would go to the ends of the Earth." It wasn't clear whether he meant Terra or Gevea.

"Watch those hormones," murmured Lilith, out of the side of her mouth.

"And Gevea! Look! I found my animal!" Terra pointed to the white fox, its nine tails still flicking back and forth, back and forth. Yes, it seemed to be saying. Enough introductions. Let us get down to business.

"So you did. A nine-tailed fox, huh? Well then. That just means your training can begin in earnest tomorrow morning."

Terra groaned. "And here I thought I'd have time to write Garfield. I haven't, yet."

"Welllll, it won't be THAT hectic," said Gevea. "I guess you could take time to write him. After all, it's important to keep in touch with your family and friends."

"Yeah, speaking of," said Lilith, glancing up at the now-starry sky. "I really should be getting back. Dad'll have a cow—I mean, LITERALLY have a cow—if I don't make it back soon." She sighed, "He eats them whole when he's upset. We lose more cows that way."

"And unless you fair ladies require anything further," said Ray, still adhering to his courtly manners, "I, too, should be getting back. My school's putting on a theater production of 'The Little Mermaid.' I promised Lucy I'd attend." He winked. "She's playing the part of Ariel, and I can't wait to 'boo' at her."

"Yes, well, thank you both," said Gevea, as Lilith turned to go.

"And Terra?" Ray turned to her. "Since this is your first visit here to the Mythical Forest, I'd like to extend my personal welcome, from my people to yours."

From an infinity away: "We're fiiiiiiiiiiiish!"

To be continued…

hey guys I thought I would celebrate a bit early for my upcoming birthday by updating. I hope you guys like it please read and review


	10. Sage Mode Training

Hidden Within the Earth

Chapter 10: Sage Mode Training

…

The next day: Solstice was waiting on top of Titans' Tower, waiting for a very special arrival. Presently, she saw a spot in the clear sky, a spot that grew larger as it descended, becoming an owl-like creature with ice-blue feathers and a miniature set of antlers on its head. The creature flew straight at the Elemental, then stopped, settled to the roof of the building, and waited.

The white-haired Elemental approached the creature, noticing two rolled-up letters on its back. "So," she asked, "did you have a nice flight?" she said as she removed the letters from its package holder.

The bird-like creature snorted. "Nice? In all this pollution? And having to dodge those big damn airplanes? Why did you ever let mortals get that far along, anyway? A cousin of mine got splatted across the windshield of a 747 not long ago. Took him all week to get his feathers straightened back out." It lifted a wing, worrying at its feathers, straightening, fluffing and buffing. "I should get combat pay."

"It's called 'progress,' and what are we supposed to do about it? Periodically knock humanity back to the stone age? What kind of message would that send?"

"'Don't clutter up our sky?' That would do for a starter." But Solstice was already reading the letters. She smiled when she read the one from Terra, but her smile disappeared when she read the second one. It was from the Council of Elders, and addressed to Renseia. Trouble, she thought. Usually, any communication from the Council of Elders was trouble.

Solstice let out a heavy sigh of frustration. Guess they don't have anything better to do than this, she thought. "Well, anyway, thank you for these. And I'll see what I can do about the combat pay. No promises, though."

"There never are." But the owl-creature lifted its wings and took flight, heading back the way it had come

Solstice began to walk back to the Tower's elevator door when she felt a familiar presence. "Oh! Hi, Raven! I didn't see you standing there!" The sorceress was looking at her with an odd expression on her face.

"Communication by strigiform? How…quaint. What are those?"

"Terra wrote you guys a letter. The other, uhm, is to Renseia. From the Council of Elders."

Raven's eyebrow rose a notch. "You say that like it's a bad thing."

"Of course not. Terra included a special note to Beast Boy. It's even got lipstick marks on the seal." She smiled, looking at it. "It's so…traditional."

"I meant the other."

"Oh, that. Er, well," dithered Solstice. "It's probably nothing. It usually is. Just notifications, policy updates, practicums, that almost never have anything to do with the real world. Or, in our case, the surreal one." Raven didn't look convinced. Solstice decided to go for broke. "You know, Raven, I've noticed something. Ever since we've arrived, and in particular, lately, you've been a bit…well…"

"Nosy?"

"I was thinking more along the lines of 'inquisitive.' But yeah. It's like you don't trust us."

Raven half-glared at her. "That's because I don't. I'm particularly concerned about this interest shown in Terra. After all, you just show up, and Terra starts going through a rough time with her powers…is all that sheer coincidence? It wouldn't be the first time someone's tried to make her into a super weapon. The fact that you and the others are being so much more civilized about it fails to allay my fears." And Solstice could hear what Raven DIDN'T say: and anything that might hurt Beast Boy OR Terra WILL be dealt with harshly.

Solstice sighed. "Well, I don't really know what to say about that. There's not much I can do about your suspicion; it is, after all, YOUR suspicion, and I can't change it for you. As for Renseia's interest in Terra…I suppose you could just ask her." She turned and faced Raven squarely. "Do you want the three of us to just leave? I suppose we could, you know. It would be better than having fight you every step of the way. And if you're truly all THAT suspicious of us…"

Raven's half-glare became a full one. There was a long pause, while Solstice imagined the dark sorceress as fighting an inner struggle with herself. Then, finally, "No. I can't say I really see that as a completely satisfactory solution. Terra IS going through some hard times…for whatever reason. And they seem to be hard times none of the rest of us could do much about. But I'm sure you are aware of human charlatans in the past, who'd cause problems they'd then offer to 'fix' for a price. Such trickery, such deception, is not limited to mortals." Solstice said nothing, and Raven went on. "I am also concerned about your account of this grandfather of hers. You make him sound like the worst thing since Darkseid himself. Perhaps it's just me, but your description sounds a bit over the top."

"Let me put it to you this way: Nekron once waged a war against him, on the avowed basis that his extensive use of zombies denied the dead their final rest. The war itself went on for nearly a century. It was a draw, but he now limits his zombie use…and Nekron leaves him alone. Does that tell you anything?"

"Hm," said Raven. "There's two sides to every story…but I'll grant you, that does sound more than a bit ominous. Very well. But I don't think you need me to tell you that I will be on my guard about the three of you." And with that, the sorceress left, sinking down into an expanding pool of night on the rooftop of the Tower.

Solstice sighed and shivered at the same time. That had been close. "After all," she muttered to herself, "What, really, can I say? If they knew the whole truth…"

"Friend Raven? Friend Solstice?" Solstice's attention was jerked back to reality. She turned to see Starfire emerging from the rooftop elevator door. "Was Friend Raven out here a moment ago, Friend Solstice?"

"Yes, you just missed her."

"Oh. I wanted to tell her that Friend Cyborg is making the golden waffles for breakfast. I know how much she likes those, and did not want her to do the missing out."

"Oh. Well, she just went downstairs. Knowing her, she's probably already sensed them and is even know chowing down." But Starfire was staring at the pieces of paper in Solstice's hand.

"What do you have there?"

"Oh, just some letters. One's from Terra to the rest of you, one's from her to Beast Boy, and the other is to Renseia, from the Council of Elders."

Starfire clapped her hands and squealed, bouncing up and down. "Oh, that is most welcome news! Tell me, when will the joyous occasion take place?"

"Excuse me? What do you mean, 'joyful occasion'?" Solstice's attention was still divided between the letters and Starfire's exclamations.

"The occasion of Friend Renseia's marriage, of course! Is that not why the Council of Elders has written her?"

"Er…what?" Solstice's train of thought was momentarily derailed by Starfire's assumption. "Marriage?"

"Of course! On Tameran, that is ALWAYS why the Council of Elders writes a Letter of Communication to one! Why, I received one myself many years ago…" Her enthusiasm seemed to damped a bit, like water had been thrown onto a fire, "But that was really from my sister, and it was Not A Good Thing." Now she brightened back up again, like a browned-out light bulb getting a new surge of energy. "But I am sure that this is not like that! Oh, tell me, when is Friend Renseia going to be the married? And to whom?"

"Uh, no, Starfire, it's, it's nothing like that…." But Starfire had already grabbed her hand and hauled her, by sheer enthusiasm, down into the main meeting hall. Before Solstice could even open her mouth, the Tameranean Princess was already telling everybody who'd listen about Renseia's upcoming nuptials. "Ah, STARFIRE!" Desperately, Solstice clapped a hand over Starfire's mouth, which continued to move: "MMGGH FRIEND RNSY GETTING MURRED!" The others looked on, puzzled, unsure as to whether Renseia was supposed to be getting married or murdered.

"Solstice? What am I supposed to be getting, again?"

Solstice cautiously took her hand away from Starfire's mouth. But Star had already spent her enthusiasm, and now waited with bright, expectant eyes for the no doubt juicy details. "AS I WAS TRYING TO EXPLAIN," said Solstice, "We got some letters from Terra." She held up the letters, motioning to Robin for one, and holding the other out for Beast Boy. "And one to Lover Boy—I mean, Beast Boy here." There, that ought to divert their attention, as Garfield blushed crimson. Solstice and the others had been teasing him unmercifully lately about his relationship with Terra. "Goodness. I wonder where she got lipstick from, there in the Mythic Forest?" This last said with a sly look out of the corners of her eyes, towards the green teen, who, of course, blushed all the more, a feat she hadn't thought was possible. "Oh, and Renseia, you got one to from the Council of Elders" she said rapidly, making it one long word, hoping nobody would notice.

"Oh?" Renseia took the note, unrolled it, and read it. Solstice watched her face, but Renseia's expression remained carefully blank. Good; they'd have to talk this over, but not here, not now.

Beast Boy took his letter. He noticed the others watching him, so hitched away so they couldn't peer over his shoulder. But when he looked at the unrolled piece of paper, it was blank. "Hey! Is this some kinda joke?" But even before he could finish the sentence, the blank page came alive with Terra's image. He stared. The image hadn't been there a moment ago… "Is this a picture or a letter?"

"It's actually both. It's called 'static magical paper,' and it can store and replay videos, basically. It's similar to your cell phones, only it's one way. Er, you might want to take that someplace private," urged Renseia. "Just hold on to it, and look at the picture, and it'll begin 'playing' in a moment."

"O…okay." He took the paper, and quite ignoring Starfire's obviously inquisitive looks, vanished into his room. Renseia gave Solstice a look, and the two of them causally strolled off in the direction of their rooms. The letter from the Council carefully tucked under Renseia's arm.

"Okay," said Robin. He'd noticed the two Elementals' leaving, and leaving BEFORE they read the letter to them. He wondered why. Some of the answers he came up with weren't especially appealing. "Let's take a look at the one she intended for us." And he unscrolled the paper, holding it at the top and the bottom, and, once again, Terra's picture came on the formerly-blank piece of paper.

The picture came alive, and they could hear Terra speaking. It was just as if she were in the room with them. "Hey, guys, what's up? Well, just wanted to let you know how things are going here. Gevea says my training is coming along great. Says she's never seen anybody make as much progress as I have in so little time. She says even my own mother didn't do this well, so that's encouraging.

"And don't tell her I said this, but Raven was right about something: I DO seem to get in more trouble than most people normally do. I made a friend, who told me I might have bad luck." On the paper, Terra's image shrugged, and smiled, a little embarrassed. "Truth is, I always kinda thought that, but I didn't take it seriously. I mean, not like THAT. She said they do make good luck charms, but they don't work a lot of the time back in the human realm.

"You'd like my new friend. Like Raven, she's part demon, too. She totally freaked out when I told her about—wait. Raven's probably watching this, isn't she? Crap. And I don't know how to go about rewinding and re-recording…Oh, well, sorry, Raven, but she got a little bent outta shape when she heard your dad was Trigon. Evidently, word of him got around. I mean, I told her you were a good person, and' all, but I don't know if I convinced her or not.

"And I made another new friend. Garfield, if you're watching this one with the guys, don't be jealous, but he's a guy. A merman, in fact. He hit on me, but I hear he does that to all the girls. And he's got a sister who, I hear, will most probably hit on YOU if she ever meets you, so, if you should happen to get over this way, don't be surprised if I stick to you like crazy glue. It's a mer thing, apparently. But they both seem like nice people. Er, fish. If you see 'em together, don't get 'em started on whether or not they're fish or people. Just trust me on that one.

"I met them after I got in trouble with a chimera. A chimera, in case you don't know, is something that looks like God couldn't decide what to make, so He just threw in a little bit of everything. And before THAT, I got chased by a—get this—a talking wild boar. Yeah. Crazy, huh? But this is a crazy place. Maybe you can see why I'm looking into getting that charm.

"Anyway, I'm doing my best to learn sage mode, but, like Gevea said all along, it hasn't been easy. I can't really describe what it's like—Raven might would know—but it seems to involve a whole lot of really, really deep meditation, meditation to the point where you don't even know if you're hungry or not. Gevea says that's the way it's supposed to be: completely separate the mind from the body. Otherwise, the least little thing disturbs your concentration, and pow. And, considering what she's telling me about some of the powers I might someday use, it wouldn't be a small 'pow,' either. More like Hiroshima pow.

"And Gevea says sage mode even help me beat you, Garfield, at some of those games you keep winning at. So enjoy your stay as top dog—er, not literally, you know what I mean—'cause I'm comin' for ya, when I get out. None of this is easy, but I suppose nothing worthwhile ever is.

"Anyway, that's all I have to say for now. Oh, and Raven? Please DO NOT go through Gar's mail. Especially THIS time. I know you've done that in the past…trust me, I'm not gonna run off to Slade again. Or anything stupid like that. Can't promise I won't do OTHER stupid things, but I sure learned my lesson there." The others turned to look at Raven, who's normally light grey cheeks were just a hair more red than usual.

"Anyway, by for now."

"Well," said Cyborg, "Sounds like she's doing alright. What th' hell is a chimera, anyway?" He scratched the human side of his head, even while he wirelessly accessed the Tower's server.

Robin, however, turned a raised eyebrow to Raven. Raven stepped back a pace and refused to meet his gaze. "It was just that one time, and it was after she'd just come back from being a statue, while she was still pretending to be an ordinary schoolgirl. After all, I had to make sure she really was Terra."

"Soooo…what was in the letter?"

Raven waved him off, her face turning even redder. "Oh, just some perfectly ordinary stuff. I, I really don't remember, now, what was actually in it." Robin turned away so as to hide his grin. If whatever it was made the normally composed Raven stammer like that, it had to have been pretty hot stuff indeed. "But I have to wonder," she said, and Robin had come to recognize was her way of diverting attention away from her own misdeeds, and back onto her favorite subject of late, "Where was Gevea when Terra was getting attacked by a chimera and a wild boar? I thought she was supposed to be looking out for her."

"Terra IS a trifle accident-prone," shrugged Robin. "And I guess Gevea can't be there every second. The important thing to remember is, she's learning from all these experiences. And, evidently, it sounds like she's learning well."

"I wonder what her new friends are like?" wondered Starfire. Raven winced slightly; she had no doubt but that, if the alien Princess were there, she would have grabbed up both of Terra's new friends in a bear hug, as was her usual way.

Robin turned to the others. While Renseia and Solstice were out of the room…"Say, guys. Have any of you been noticing anything…unusual about our super villains lately?"

"Other than that they're jerks? No. Why?"

"Because, Cyborg, I have. I've noticed that a lot of them seemed to be acting…I don't know any other way to put it, but…they've been acting rather odd. More so than usual, I mean. In fact, it almost seems as if they're possessed or something. Nobody else has noticed that?"

The others, including Raven, exchanged looks. "No, Robin. Now that I know what to look for, I'll be on the lookout for signs of demonic possession…you are thinking demonic, aren't you?"

"There's other kinds?" asked Cyborg.

"Yes. There's also angelic possession, but it's practically unheard of, in this day and age. And it is possible for other sorts of beings, provided they have strong enough wills, to possess a human, or suppress that human's actions or thoughts, through various means. Remember, in a sense, that was what Slade tried to do with Terra, herself, with his neuro-suit. But it would take a very strong will, and no human, no matter how strong, could possess any other human for very long. So it would have to be either supernatural, or short term, would be the most likely scenarios. Probably both.

"But I have to admit, I haven't really been on the lookout for such things." She bit her lip; Raven prided herself on being aware of all things magical, in particular those things that could threaten her friends. That was largely part of the reason she was so suspicious of Renseia, Gevea, and Solstice. They were an unknown. "I mean, who or what in his, her, or its, right mind would possess Mumbo Jumbo, of all people?"

"Yeah, well, just remember, we could be facing a magical entity here in the form of Terra's grandfather. Magical entities seldom play by the rules—no offense, Raven-*"

"None taken. You're right."

"*-but we need to factor that into consideration. Anything we can do to counter that, Raven?"

"I'll see what I can come up with. A spell of exorcism wouldn't be workable in a combat situation. It would have to be something on the order of a banishment charm or spell. Something instantaneous." And with that, she headed off towards her room, still talking to herself.

….

Beast Boy's room: The green teen had just finished watching the "video" Terra had sent him for the fifth time, sighing more and more each time. Unlike his previous sighs in the main hallway, however, these were sighs of happiness.

He sighed again, and rolled up the piece of paper. Renseia had told him how to turn it "off" and "on," and even to "bookmark" certain parts. He scrounged around in his room for something to store it in. There; an old mailing tube. Perfect. Now, he could roll and unroll it as much as he wanted, without causing seams to appear in the paper. Now to go join the others.

He made it to the main hallway in time to hear the words "possessed." Oh, no, he thought. Too often, whenever the word "possessed" was uttered, somehow or another, Raven was involved. Though he guessed he shouldn't be too surprised by that anymore; after all, she WAS their resident demon sorceress. But sometimes, things didn't go quite like one might suppose they would.

Like the time when she'd somehow gotten the notion that the toaster was possessed. His patient explanations that consistently burning the toast was not necessarily the fault of the mechanism had fallen on deaf ears. She had then proceeded to conduct a spirited exorcism upon the tiny convection oven. To Raven, the only thing more valuable than good toast was even better waffles, so she took this perceived assault from the Spirit World very seriously indeed. There were just the two of them in the Tower at the time, and without Cyborg to build another toaster, Robin to suggest an alternative, or Starfire to burn more toast or waffles with her laser vision, he knew she'd be getting a trifle anxious, without access to her favorite food.

However, she'd gotten one letter wrong, and, instead of "exOrcise," she'd said "exErcise," whereupon the thing had suddenly come to life, sprouted tiny little black legs, bounced into an upright position, and, with a shrill battle cry of something to the effect of seeking vengeance upon humans for uncounted years of abuse to domestic mechanisms, had begun pelting them with medium-dark slices of toast, firing them from its slot with considerable accuracy. It steadfastly ignored all commands to cease and desist, darting from one end of the kitchenette to the other. They had both dived for cover, warm slices of bread whizzing over and past their heads, bouncing off the walls. With the skill of a Navy SEAL working behind enemy lines, the toaster re-armed itself from the breadbox and continued its onslaught. She'd finally had no choice but to blast it to smithereens. She'd then made him promise never to tell anyone about the incident, and he hadn't, mostly because he knew Raven was, in her own way, a rather proud person, and public knowledge of the incident would embarrass her deeply.

Also, he didn't wish to be morphed into a rat. Again.

So it was with some trepidation that he tried to imagine what Raven might be up to now. "Possessed? Er, guys?"

"Nothing all that big. Just something we need Raven to look into," said Robin, turning away from the others, and turning towards Beast Boy. "So…how was your letter, 'Lover Boy'?" Raven had left, but Robin, Starfire, and Cyborg had lingered behind, and were now giving the blushing Garfield their full attention, big smirks on their faces. Starfire looked like she wanted to know ALL the juicy details.

Oh, well, thought Beast Boy, at least it's not Assault by Angry Appliance again.

"It, er, was a good letter." One I am NOT telling you about, so don't ask. "What about yours? Anything of note, there in the Mythic Forest? How's her training coming?"

"It is coming most well!" gushed Starfire, who only seemed to have one mood. "Friend Terra is doing the most wonderfully! Soon she will be a Master of Fire!" She paused, put her finger to her chin, and looked off. "Or is that, 'Mistress of Fire'? I am not sure…" But then, just like before, she switched back to "enthusiasm" mode. "And she says she has made two new friends, but she says one is likely to strike you should you ever meet, so perhaps it would be best not to do so, at least, unless she is accompanying you."

"Strike me? What did I do? This time, I mean."

"Ah, that…," Robin waved Starfire's exuberance down a notch, "…doesn't exactly mean what it sounds like, Star. That's one of those Earth terms I was telling you about yesterday. I'll explain later." Then he turned serious. "Gar? You fought Mumbo the other day. You know how he is… goofy, but dangerous. But did he seem quite so dangerous, so goofy, that day?"

"Dangerous? Heck, yeah. I mean, the guy tried to hit me with a tree! But goofy? Well," he scratched his head. "Not so much. Yeah, I kinda see what you mean. And…say, did he even say anything during the entire fight? I can't recall it, if he did. And you know how he usually is, usually you can't shut him up, like he's putting on a big show or something. But he didn't do any of that this time."

"It's called 'pattern,' and stage magicians use it to distract the audience while they pull a dove out of a hidden pocket in their capes, or something. I also find it suspicious," said the Boy Wonder, "about the timing. This took place at night. Raven's told us, in the past, that light—especially daylight, sunlight—seems to inhibit evil spirits. And flinging trees at people is just not Mumbo's MO. Usually, his style is kinda silly. Dangerous, but…but there's really nothing silly about hurling whole trees." He looked out the window. "It's not far from being nighttime, however. Although I hate to say it, maybe we'll get more information this go-round." He sighed. "But I wouldn't turn down a quiet night at home, however."

Renseia's room: The two Elementals were going over the contents of the letter from the Council

Earlier, they had both opened the letter, and an image of a blue haired man, apparently in his thirties, wearing a white hooded robe, coalesced on the paper. "That's Azuris," Renseia had muttered. "From what I have heard, he is not the most pleasant person in either of the world's. A good friend, providing you don't mind a knife in your back every now and then."

The image spoke. "My fellow Beings. I bring you greetings from the Council. It has come to our attention that you have actually managed to do that which I, frankly, had thought to be impossible, and found your long-lost niece. I must extend my congratulations. It is indeed very fortunate that you have done so, and especially now, of all time. And we understand your reluctance to move overtly in matters such as these in these perilous political times. So, in order to put to rest any comments or uncertainties, let me remove any political hesitancy you may have felt about the matter and just tell you that you are hereby commanded to bring Terra here, to us, for examination. I'm told she is undergoing training, in order to make better use of her formidable powers. This is all to the good; she can continue her training here, under our watchful eye. We have some excellent," and here, the two Elementals saw an unsettling gleam came into Azuris' bright green eyes, "TUTORS here. I'm sure she will do…very well, indeed."

And then… "So…they want us to bring Terra to them, to examine her themselves."

The message continued. "On an unofficial note, I must warn you that there have been rumors that, AHEM, a certain individual whom we need not name, has been conducting certain business ventures that could easily impact directly on you and your mission. I don't think I need to tell you to be on your guard for anything, any attack of a supernatural nature. And all of you know how fond he is of employing possessive entities, to the detriment of everyone else.

"So in light of that, I would advise you all to avoid all areas of darkness, especially after sundown. I'm sure you are aware of how possessive entities can respawn, infecting others even without any direct spell." And with that, the message faded out, and the image disappeared, shrinking back into the paper from which it projected.

The two Elementals sighed. "So. This is not good," remarked Solstice. "Not only do they want us to bring Terra to them, but now we have to avoid all patches and areas of darkness. That's going to be difficult in the city." Renseia nodded. In a woodland area, it usually wasn't quite so severe; there, shades of darkness were usually not quite so dangerous, at least until nightfall.

But in the city, even in bright sunlight, a deep enough shadow could harbor something decidedly malevolent. It had to do with disrupted ley lines, and natural protective boundaries being erased by human progress and building. Renseia shrugged. You couldn't really blame the humans; they were as unaware of the weavings of the supernatural world as babies are of the weaving of their cradle. Perhaps someday…

"So it looks like it WAS Vlad who sent those two demons after Terra. I thought it had his thumbprints all over it." She turned to Solstice. "Solstice, you need to get in touch with Gevea. Let her know what's going on. Tell her what the Council said, and about Vlad. Tell her to stall for time."

"How do we do that?"

"I'm going to call in a few favors."

Solstice left, and was walking down the hallway, when she sensed a familiar presence. "Beast Boy?"

A small green fly on the wall morphed into the changeling. "So. Letter reading went okay?" He showed no signs of guilt or remorse.

"Were you spying on us?"

"Of course I was. The way you two scurried off after delivering the other letters, hurried to Renseia's room, locked the door, and did everything except nail up boards on the inside? I'd have to be stupid NOT to spy."

Solstice looked at him for a long, long moment. "How much did you hear?"

"'Stall for time.' 'Call in a few favors.'"

Another look. "Damn. You've got good hearing."

"It's the ears. Chicks love the ears."

"Well, if you heard that much, then you know we're all neck deep in hot water. You, the rest of you, had better be on the lookout for demons, possessive entities,

Beast Boy sighed. "Demons. Why does it always have to be demons?"

…..

Renseia was composing her own letter to Gevea. "Gevea," she said, the static magical paper, "This is for your eyes and ears only, so I'm encrypting it in case Terra happens to be around you when you read it. If she's present, all you'll hear is a bland report of everything going well here, etc. But things are NOT going well. We just got a letter from the Council of Elders. They want us to bring Terra to them for 'training.' We both know what that means. Even in a best-case scenario, they'll take Terra from us, and we'll never see her again. Worse case…I'd rather not think about it.

"So we're going to have to stall, until we can figure out something to do. I know a few people who can help, and I'll be contacting them. But don't expect too much. They are, after all, only…well, they're not human, but you know what I mean. There's only so much they can do.

"Our only real hope is for Terra to master her powers enough that the Council will decide to leave her alone, let us keep doing 'such a good job,' so to speak. If it seems like Terra might be too much for them to handle—read: 'control'-I hope they'll decide to do just that. So let's make her too much for them to handle.

"And now to Vlad. He's up to his old tricks again. Those two demons WERE sent by him, just like we suspected. They won't be the last. You know how fond he is of possessive entities, so be on your guard. Set the wards around your place to maximum. Just because you're in the Mythic Forest, don't assume he can't find you there. In fact, he might could find you easier there than here."

The main conference room: Renseia and Solstice were seated the conference table with the others. They'd decided to let the Titans in on the news. At the moment, Robin was looking very grim. "So," he said, when they finished. "Not only do we have to worry about this Vlad guy, but now these Elders have stepping into the ring. What, exactly, are we looking at?"

Renseia and Solstice glanced at each other. "With Vlad, he'll probably send in some more troops. He really likes to use possessive demons of various sorts. He figures it gives him a certain edge, and he's right. In those cases, you can easily find yourself facing friends, or at least people you don't want to kill. It complicates things…in his favor.

"The Elders are no less dangerous. In times past, they've acted to protect humanity, but these days, that attitude seems to be in a state of change. I've a strong suspicion that Azuris may have a lot to do with that policy change. He's always felt, sometimes quite vocally, humans are an inferior species that needs to be replaced, or at least seriously depleted, population-wise." Shrug. "He's of the opinion there's too many humans for the Council to control 'properly,' if you get my drift, and he's stacked the Council with people who share his views. The whole thing with Terra is a power-struggle, essentially, between the Council and Vlad. The closest analogy I can think of is the old Cold War, between America and your Soviet Union. There wasn't any actual overt conflict, but…."

"We get the picture. So what do we do about it?"

Renseia hesitated. "I'm not sure. Both of them are out of our league. The only advantage we have is that the Council tends to play by the rules, even if they do sometimes make up those rules on the fly, so to speak. They're usually more open with their moves. Vlad, on the other hand…well, let's just say he'd fond of hitting below the belt. I've called in a few favors from some friends, but the best we can do is stall them for time. Gevea will take what precautions she can to keep Terra out of the Council's hands, but whether or not she'll be successful, that I can't say. The Council does have access to certain resources we don't. And Vlad…from what we know of him, and his fighting style, he'll probably send in possessive demons of some sort. You'll have to keep away from them, and especially avoid areas of darkness."

Robin nodded, and sat back, arms crossed over his chest. "Yeah, we've had our own problem with possessive spirits in the past. Raven? Any word of hope there?"

She shook her head. "Not much. My father's demons were of a different order. These sound more…independent, I guess, is the best way of putting it. I can make some charms to make sure none of us get possessed, but, of course, I can't make enough to cover the whole city."

"So what are you suggesting?"

Again she shook her head. "I don't know. I'll have to do some research."

After the meeting, Solstice caught up with Beast Boy in the hallway. "Garfield, there's something you should know."

"Oh?"

"Because of your unique relationship with Terra, you are going to be in more danger than the rest. Vlad will not have any problem finding out you care for her, and he'll use that against you." She drew in a deep breath. "From this point on, your life—your soul-is in extreme danger."

Beast Boy raised an eyebrow. "So?"

Solstice relaxed and actually smiled. "I was hoping that would be your reaction."

The Mythic Forest: Terra had finished another letter to her friends back in "the world," as she thought of it. "Terra?" She looked up. "Time for another training session."

This time they went to the mountains. "Those," said Terra, "are some really high mountains." They seemed to go on up past the stratosphere.

"Yes, they are. There are certain places we need to avoid. Remember, there are other beings of power here."

"So, uhm, what am I going to be doing here?"

"This is part of your sage mode training. A large part of sage mode is learning not to move."

Terra raised an eyebrow. "And that's hard?"

"You'd be surprised. Usually animals are much better at accessing that particular ability, but humans have a hard time with it. However, since you found your animal, it should be easier for you than before."

"Remember when you turned into a stone statue? In a sense you entered a kind of sage mode, but not a healthy one. Stones usually stand very still indeed. But obviously, that sort of sage mode won't help you much."

"I'll say," said Terra, shivering slightly. She didn't remember anything about her time as a statue, but could only imagine what it would be like if she did. To be unable to move, but be awake and aware the whole time, would drive almost anyone insane.

"So here we learn how to control that, so that you can more easily access those parts of your nature that will help you control your powers." She turned and looked at Terra very seriously, "I can't emphasize that enough. Your powers can be very dangerous, not only to you, but to others around you. Remember what happened to you back at Titans' Tower. That could so very easily have gotten out of hand."

Again Terra shivered, despite the warm sunshine. She could easily imagine the damage she could have caused, solely due to her ignorance of her own abilities. "I think I get it now," she said.

"Not quite. When you went into sage mode accidently, you actually died, in a way."

Terra audibly swallowed. She'd actually died?

"Still up for it?"

"Yes," said Terra without hesitation.

"Okay. See that high rock up there?" Terra nodded. "Well, today you are to stand on top of that rock and not fall."

"Uhhh, can we choose a less high rock?"

"No. You have to balance while meditating."

"Alright."

"Okay then." She grabbed two slabs of rock and handed them to Terra. "Here we go. Take these and climb up there. Remember, you have to meditate WHILE balancing. That's going to take some doing."

"Uh…should I do so, you WILL catch me, won't you?"

"I'll think about it."

That's reassuring, thought Terra. But she obediently climbed up onto the roof

"Focus, Terra. Draw strength from your animal. Imagine being the fox."

Terra closed her eyes and concentrated, trying to call up a picture in her mind of the nine-tailed fox in the clearing. But it proved maddeningly elusive; she couldn't get a good picture of the creature. She started to fall…

…and felt someone grab her. She looked up to see Lilith's violet hair. "Hello again, Terra. Never got that good luck charm, did you?"

"No, not yet." Terra shot a laughing Gevea a murderous glance. "I've been too busy amusing people by falling off mountains. Thanks for the catch, by the way."

"No problem. I'm getting used to saving your butt. Mind if I watch you train?"

"Not a bit," Terra said, as her embarrassment gave way to her sense of self-preservation. She wasn't all THAT sure she could trust Gevea anymore. The Elemental seemed way too tickled by her near-accident. "But I thought you were going somewhere with Ray?"

"I was, but he had some errands to run with his sister. And I didn't really feel like refereeing those two with their 'fish, people' thing. Again."

"I hear ya. Well, here I go again."

Three hours and twenty-seven falls later, Terra thought she was getting the hang of it. Gevea told her to take a break. "I fall from up here, and I definitely will take a break," she muttered, her old rebellious streak coming to the fore.

"Huh?"

"I said, after three hours, all my bones ache." But she brightened up when Gevea produced a picnic basket full of meaty goodies. Terra dug in. "Good thing Beast Boy isn't here. He gets a little antsy when there's any kind of meat on the menu."

"He's a vegetarian?" asked Lilith.

"Yeah. I guess I can see it. I mean, being able to change into animals, I guess it feels kinda weird to eat one."

As the two of them ate (Lilith politely declining), Terra noticed Lilith trying not to look at her. "Uhm…is something wrong, Lilith?"

"Not really. It's just, uh…you're all scratched up."

Terra looked down at herself. "Yeah. I'm afraid it's kind of a regular occurrence with me."

"Yeah but…you're bleeding."

Terra looked down at herself. "Yeah, I guess I a- Wait a minute. I'm sorry, Lilith." She'd forgotten that Lilith was, after all, half vampire… "Uh, got any band-aids in there, Gevea?"

After a brief break, Terra went back to her exercises. It did seem to be getting a little easier, and she felt a peculiar kind of strength flowing through her. Strength she found herself needing. "I never realized it was this hard to just stand still."

"You'll get the hang of it. If it's any consolation, your mother had a hard time with it, too."

"Really? I thought, from the way you talked, she was, like, a natural at all this."

"Nobody is a natural at everything. Some things—most things—more often than not require plain old back-breaking hard work."

It was during another break, when Lilith spoke up, a bit diffidently, it seemed. "Say, Terra. I haven't heard you speak much about your mother. What is she like, anyway?"

Terra frowned. "To be honest, I never knew my mother personally. But I've been told she's alive out there, somewhere. And I've been told she's a wonderful person."

"I…see. Sorry I brought that up."

Terra waved her sandwich, while swallowing. "It's alright. I'm not upset or anything. Not too long ago, I didn't even know I HAD a mother—oh, I mean, I pretty much presumed I had had one at some point, but I never gave it much thought. But now…" and here she gave Gevea a hard look, "…now I know she's alive, somewhere. Sooner or later, I'm going to go looking for her." Gevea said nothing. "What about your mother, Lilith?"

Lilith scratched the back of her head before answering. "Well…she can be rude and cold at times. But at other times, she can be very nice and caring." She laughed. "And of course, I've told you about her feelings regarding humans. I'm told she…had a bad experience once, involving a human. "

Terra frowned even more at this. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what a vampire's "bad experience" with "a human" probably meant. Change the subject. "Gevea. Got a question."

"Ask and ye may receive. No promises, though."

"Okay. Why is it that I keep running into people who are, well, half and half? I mean, here I am, a crazy-quilt mixture, and I meet you three, Lilith here, Ray and Lucy, the chimera, and even a wild boar that can talk. Is all that just coincidence? Is it just the way things go here? Or is there some other reason?"

Gevea sighed, looking at what was left of her sandwich. "Not…totally. I guess you've picked up on how often you keep meeting halflings, changelings. Even back on your home world, Earth, you met Garfield, who can change shape, and Raven, who's half human and half demon lord. No, that's not totally coincidence.

"I, personally, believe it has to do with like attracting like. In physics, opposites tend to attract. The north pole of a magnet attracts the south pole of another one. In magic, it's often just the other way around. I'm sure you've noticed that in magic, there's a strong amount of probability alteration. When Raven, say, levitates an object, she makes it a whole lot more probable that whatever she wants to happen is going to take place. At least that's part of it.

After this break, they began to train again. However, after two minutes, it began to rain. Both Gevea and Lilith looked up, surprised, and Gevea started to tell Terra they'd have to continue on at another time…

…except Terra was still high up on the rocky point, not moving, holding the slabs of rock in her hands, eyes closed, apparently completely unaware of the now-torrential rain falling around her.

Gevea smiled. "It looks like she's finally become one with nature," she said to herself. Then she noticed a bright green aura surrounding the blond teen. Her hair changed color to snow white, her ears grew into points, and her eyes changed color, becoming silver, the pupils turning into cat-like slits.

Perfect, thought Gevea. The cat-like eyes and ears were a sure sign of mastering sage mode. And she'd done it so fast! Gevea could easily see a day when Terra would surpass her own skill. Wonder what THAT will be like? She asked herself. "So," she said out loud, addressing Terra, while a stunned Lilith looked on. "How does it feel to be one with nature?"

"It feels…kinda weird. Or at least, it did at first. Now…it's like I'm getting used to it. I don't-*" And, suddenly, she fell off her perch.

The violet-haired Lilith was already moving. "Don't!" shouted Gevea. "Not this time!" Lilith pulled up short, sending a puzzled look towards Gevea.

Terra had time to think, WHAT? Then she hit the ground with a resounding thud. Slowly, she got up, noticing the small crater all around her where she'd impacted. What th' hey? "I…just fell from a really high place…" she thought to herself. "Why aren't I hurting? I always thought that was what a big fall was supposed to DO."

Down came Gevea and Lilith. "I suppose you have some questions."

"Too right I do! I nearly had a heart attack, falling like that!"

"But you didn't. And, the fall didn't hurt you. Now, did it?"

"Okay. What…are you saying? I'm immune to falls now?"

"That's sage mode for you. Your body automatically took precautions against being hurt. I mean, think about it. Sage mode. You're just standing there, unaware of the surrounding world. Another chimera comes along, and there you are, defenseless and tasty. So of course, the process takes precautions against incidents just like that. If it didn't, there wouldn't be any sage mode users left. Now don't," she held up a finger, "go thinking you're invincible. This was only a minor demonstration of the power of sage mode. During, most such natural accidents and incidents are no real threat to you. But the key word there is 'natural.' A bullet will still kill you dead. Exactly why is still being debated even today, after eight thousand years. The general consensus seems to be that it's not the BULLET that kills you, so much as it's the INTENT of the shooter. That also applies to, say, magical weapons, of course."

"Oh. Right," said Terra, feeling a bit deflated. Here, she'd just gotten the notion that she couldn't be hurt. Oh, well. It was a cheerful fantasy. For about two minutes. "What else do I need to know?"

"This protection only lasts as long as you're actually IN sage mode. There wasn't time for you to really come out of it, before you hit the ground. So it's more important than ever that you learn to maintain your concentration no matter what is going on around you. And the summoning technique depends upon you remaining in sage mode."

"Sage mode…you know, I've been wondering something."

"Oh?"

"Why's it called 'sage mode,' anyway? I always had this picture of sages as being old men, or something."

"That's because, in the past, only sage's—full sages, and usually full supernaturals—were able to enter it, and only then after centuries of practice. However, lately, something…kinda weird has been happening."

Terra's eyebrow rose. For Gevea to call something "weird," it must be weird indeed. "Weird how?"

"As I said, at first, only a few people could enter it. But lately…it seems to have become a lot easier for people—some of whom are fully human, by the way—to learn the process." She held up her hands. "And that's what's weird. Usually, magic is consistent across time. For a spell or something such as sage mode to suddenly change—and remember, for us, 'suddenly' may mean 'since the last ice age'-it usually bespeaks of something about to happen. Some major upset in the magical, as well as the physical world.

"So everybody's on their guard. If something IS about to happen….well, it could be…bad."

"Like bad how?"

"Like the galaxy blows up bad. That's how bad."

So this is how goosebumps feel, thought Lilith.

….

Back in Jump City: Renseia had finished her letter-writing campaign. The results could have been more encouraging.

The Council of the Mer Folk really didn't want to get involved. They'd had some bad experiences in the past with humans. The Fairy Council would support the Elementals…providing they confined their actions to the human world. Of course, Renseia couldn't guarantee that. And the God Council, on Olympus, refused to reply at all. Renseia didn't know if they'd even gotten the message.

She and Solstice were conferring in Renseia's room, about their next move, when suddenly, Renseia's eyes narrowed to pinpoints, rolled up to the top of her head, and she fainted dead away, falling to floor before a stunned Solstice could even catch her.

…..

The Mythic Forest: Terra still had questions. She was just now digesting the notion of something as bad as Gevea spoke of as actually happening. "Mind you," continued Gevea, "I'm not saying the galaxy IS going to explode. I'm merely using that as a metaphor. But, yeah. That level of bad."

"Well, still, that's…kinda serious, wouldn't you say?"

"Extremely. That's why it's so important you learn as much as you can about your powers and how they work. You might not have that long."

Again Terra shivered. She'd come to accept the notion that the Elementals were too powerful to be just destroyed, like that but the way Gevea was talking, they were in as much danger as anybody else. "This wouldn't be the work of You-Know-Who, would it?" They'd agreed, even before they arrived at the Mythic Forest, that it might be best to adopt a few cautionary measures.

But Gevea shook her head, arms crossed in front of her. "It's possible. It's always possible. But…to be honest, this feels…wrong. I can't see how ANYone, no matter who, or what their motivations might be, could benefit from the disruption of the entire magical network." She paused, and Terra thought she looked troubled. "Let's…talk about something else."

"O-kay." Whatever made the white-headed Elemental uneasy must be plenty serious. "You mentioned something about 'summoning,' What's that?"

"A space and time ability. It allows the summoner to transport objects, creatures, etc., over extreme distances. Needless to say, it requires a very delicate and precise control. Doesn't do anybody much good to get accidently teleported into the sun."

"That sounds kinda cool."

Gevea smirked. "Wait until you see what I've got on your plate next. It's called Elemental duplication. Sometimes referred to as magical cloning."

Terra looked surprised. "Cloning? Magical cloning?"

"Yes. You—especially you-can use the elements you control to basically produce copies of yourself."

"How does it work?"

"I'll show you." She got to her feet. "Stand up. You're gonna need to summon up all the life-energy you can. It takes it out of you, especially the first few times."

"How many clones can I make?" Terra had long thought about making something out of Earth, something that looked like herself, and playing pranks on people. This sounded like just the thing. "How many clones can I make? A thousand?"

"Whoa. A thousand Terras?" Lilith spoke up, and expression of worry on her face. "Do we really wanna see what trouble a thousand Terras can come up with?"

"Well, I wanna see," said Terra, rubbing her hands together. This sounded way more fun than that dumb ol' sage mode. She still pictured it as being used by ancient, white-bearded men, sitting cross-legged on the ground.

"Then here we go." Gevea gestured, and a small whirlwind of magic formed in front of her. The dust and energy settled into a miniature version of herself. "The limit is however much energy you can gather. Pretty much like anything else, actually." The miniature Gevea stuck her tongue out at Terra and made a raspberry sound.

"Oh, now that was a low blow."

"So pay me back. Make up one of your own."

"Okay, I will." And Terra began to summon her energy.

Her trials in sage mode served her well. Gevea was right; it DID take a lot of energy. Terra began to be unsure if she could even manage ONE clone. "Focus!" said the Elemental. "Remember your training! You CAN do it, but you have to concentrate!"

Slowly, slowly, a small Terra began to form in front of the original. Why is this so hard? She wondered. After all, she was used to flinging boulders around. This was just…dust?

She poured energy into the construct. Lilith looked on, nervously. She hadn't been kidding about how much trouble a thousand Terras could come up with.

The Terra clone, no more than five inches high, solidified. It looked like a doll. Then Terra's face grew red. The doll was naked. "Uh, wait, that's not right." She concentrated some more and the dust around the doll congealed into an outfit like Terra was currently wearing. The others snickered, slightly, hiding their smiles behind their hands. "Hey, no fair! This is my first time with this!

"Well, now comes the, ah, INTERESTING part. Make it move."

Terra tried. But every time she tried, the construct fell apart, and she had to reform it. She was sweating buckets by the time she managed to make it wave its hand. "This is NOT as easy as it looks! Why am I having such a hard time of it? I mean…"

"Delicacy. Delicacy and control. It always comes back to that. Back when you were using your powers the old way, the movements of whatever you were concentrating on were more or less undifferentiated. In other words, you were just flinging rocks. Here, by contrast, you're having to learn how to pitch a curveball, sort of. Only way more control is needed here."

"Okay," said Terra. "Now for number two."

"I hope number two doesn't become number bang bang explode pow pow," fretted Lilith.

"Oh, you worry too much, Lil. I mean, it's dust. What's the worst that can happen?"

"You DO know you just jinxed the whole thing, right?"

The two miniature Terras waved all four arms. Then, in complete unison, they stuck out their own miniature tongues at Gevea. "There. How's that?"

"Well and good for a first day. I have to admit, you've made way more progress than any of us expected. Don't let it go to your head, though. That's a sure recipe for disaster."

Lilith looked up at the sky. It was getting dark, and she knew her dad would be eyeing the cows again. They really couldn't afford to lose that many more cows. Cows were expensive. "Well, I guess I'd best be getting on back. See you both later."

"G'bye, Lil. And see?" Terra gestured all around. "Still standing. Maybe my luck isn't as bad as it seems."

"If the Mythic Forest is still here tomorrow, I'll consider that possibility. Meanwhile, bye." And they all waved goodbye.

Back at the tree house, the two of them ate, after which Terra showered and made ready for bed. She was asleep almost before her head hit the pillow.

…..

Jump City, Earth: A girl who looked to be about sixteen, with brown hair and green eyes, was walking along a darkened sidewalk. She looked around nervously; many of the streetlights were out, contributing to the darkness. But she'd come this way many times before, so surely it should be safe now.

She barely had time to register the three shadowy figures before they pounced on her. Her blood-curdling scream for help went completely unnoticed.

To be continued…

Hey guys sorry this took so long I was busy with work. I hope you guys like it please read and review


	11. Shadow Dance

Titans' Tower: Renseia had fainted right before the horrified eyes of Solstice. "Renseia!" was the last thing she heard. At least, in that world.

But there are more worlds than these. During her loss of consciousness, she dreamed. She dreamed of a crowd of cold-eyed people, all staring at a medieval castle. She dreamed of a tall man with black hair and blue eyes yelling, shouting, as the castle went up in flames. And she dreamed of seeing Terra pierced through the stomach by a man with glowing red eyes.

Renseia shot up from her bed, a wild look in her eyes, and practically knocked Solstice on her butt. "What the EARTH! Renseia! What the Earth just happened? You fainted! You fainted? You NEVER faint!"

"It…it was just a dream. I, I've been missing sleep…"

"And so naturally, you just fell asleep right in the middle of the floor. And are out most of the night. Riiiiight. Happens all time. Come on, 'fess up. YOU FAINTED. Now, that begs the question: WHY? And why are you crying? I've never seen you cry before." Neither of them said anything for a moment. Then Solstice said, softly, "You had a vision, didn't you?" Renseia nodded, still not trusting herself to speak. "What was it about?"

"I…I don't know if I can…" But then she drew a deep breath. Solstice was one of her best friends. If she couldn't tell her, who could she tell?

"Well, if you feel you just can't tell-"

"No, no. I'll tell you, but…I need some time to, to, I guess put it into words."

"Okay. You know that sometimes visions are highly allegorical, right? What you dreamed about may not actually be what's in store. Just something similar or resembling the event."

Renseia smiled tiredly. "Why can't visions ever be pleasant? I mean, what would be wrong with a vision that shows everything is rosy in the future?"

"'Cause they're warnings. You don't warn about good things. Now come on. It's almost time for morning report, and the others will be wondering where we are."

"Let me clean up first. I'll be right on down."

"Alright. I'll see you there." And Solstice teleported herself down to the meeting room, leaving Renseia with her thoughts…and her fears.

Renseia went into the small bathroom there in her room, and splashed some water on her face. She looked at herself in the mirror. "It was just a dream," she muttered. "Just a stupid dream. Didn't have to be a vision, didn't have to be a vision at all. Just a dream." She straightened up, found a brush, and brushed some of the tangles out of her silver hair. "Just a stupid dream. I'm overwrought about all these things, so of course I dream about the whole thing going straight to Sheol and beyond. Naturally." She paused, then put the brush down and splashed some more water on her face. "I guess I'm lucky I'm not talking to myself."

Renseia made her way down to the conference room.

"Ah, Renseia. Good, good," said Robin. As usual, he was the first to notice her entrance. It had occasionally occurred to Renseia that, for a human, he had an almost preternatural sense of his surroundings. Was he fully human? She guessed it didn't matter. "I was just about to report on the incident last night."

"Incident?" The way he'd said that seemed to indicate, to her, that it was more than a purse-snatching.

"Yes. It seems three young girls have gone missing."

"Missing?" said Raven, in her usual monotone voice. "I gather you've more information than that." The Titans did not usually take on missing-persons cases.

"Yes. Missing. But what's peculiar about their disappearance is that, in at least two cases, their friends reported that they'd both gone into a very dark place, in one case a deserted construction site, and in the other, an apparently empty alley. Now, in this day and age, I think it safe to say that even the most manic young person would realize that dark places are dangerous, so to me, that indicates something else at work, some sort of deception."

"And the third?"

"Basically the same type of young person. Young girl, age eighteen, height, five and a little. In other words, largely identical to the other two. Data seems to indicate somebody's collecting young girls. But why?"

"It could be that presence I warned you about," said Renseia. "Demonic influence. Demons are experts at the art of manipulation. A sufficiently powerful or skilled demon can make someone think they're perfectly safe, or that the alleyway is well lit, even when it's not. A group could even take on the appearance of the victim's friends."

"But only in the darkest of dark places? I wonder why that is," mused Robin, rubbing his chin.

"Sunlight. Electric light has some effect, but sunlight tends to dispel demonic influence. And before you ask, no one's completely sure why that is. One popular theory is that it's not that the demons are actually hurt or harmed by the sunlight as it is a, a psychological weakness. The same way some people can't stand the sight of blood."

"Well, whatever it is, it looks like we're on the job, at least unless we can determine something. Raven? Any luck with those charms?"

"Some. Keep in mind these won't shield us completely from such forces, but they will give us a fighting chance."

"Alright, something's better than nothing. Cyborg, you and Beast Boy will head out east of the city, Solstice and Starfire, you take the south. That leaves me, Raven, and Renseia to cover the north and the west. We'll have to leave in thirty minutes, so get ready." Raven sat where she was. "Raven? Was there anything else?"

"Hm? Oh," the dark sorceress shook herself, as though she'd fallen asleep. "No. I…have nothing more to add." Only Robin, who was sitting closest to her, heard her mutter, "Nothing of importance."

Raven distributed the charms. "Wear them no matter what. It's like Renseia said, demons are masters of the art of deception. Don't let anyone—or anything—talk you into taking them off."

After the Titans had filed out, Renseia turned to Solstice. "Anything?"

Solstice gave one very sorrowful shake of the head. "Nothing. Nobody seems interested in getting their hands dirty." They both turned to go to their rooms when Starfire appeared. She had evidently lingered behind the others. "Friend Renseia? Friend Solstice? I notice you seem to have words with each other you do not share with us, your friends."

"Uh…" began Renseia. They frankly had underestimated the Tameranean, thinking her to be an airhead.

"That is all of right. The two of you have known each other much longer than you have known us. It is natural that you should have a private conversation." But here, her expression darkened, and her orange-hued face took on a remarkable resemblance to Raven's. "But one trusts it is nothing that is any of the importance in the upcoming battle."

"No, Starfire," breathed Renseia. They may as well come clean. "To tell you the truth, Solstice and I were trying to drum up some support, some allies among our own kind. Vlad is immensely powerful—I mean, seriously, you've no idea…no, wait. You've fought Trigon; he's close. But we haven't been successful. That was what we were talking about."

"I see. Tell me, how does one defeat these demons of which you spoke?"

"There's only two sure ways: sunlight and exorcism. The charms Raven gave all of you will help, but they won't do anything for someone already possessed."

"Do you think it likely we will find ourselves in battle with superior forces?"

Renseia looked at Solstice. "I can almost guarantee it."

"Good."

Renseia raised a surprised eyebrow. "'Good'?"

But Starfire's face had transformed once again, this time into a feral creature neither of them would have wanted to meet in combat. "It is only in battle with superior forces that one achieves one's greatest victories."

Two o'clock: The Titans headed out, on their assigned routes. "You're pretty sure we'll encounter demonic activity?" Robin asked Renseia, from the seat of his bike.

"Almost positive. Demons are creatures of impulse. If they were active last night, they'll be active tonight. No reason for them not to be."

Two hours later: "Anything to report, anyone?"

"Nope," said Cyborg.

"Not so far," came Raven's voice.

"Friend Solstice and I have not located any of the shadows of evil yet, beloved." Starfire knew Robin always blushed whenever she called him that in public, so, of course, she called him that every chance she got.

But then they both chanced to see something odd down by one dark alley. It was like a shadow had suddenly shifted, the way shadows shift when a light source shifts, but no light source had shifted. "Down there!" cried Solstice.

The two flew down closer to street level. In the back alley, they saw a being seemingly made of shadow advancing on a young girl. The girl herself didn't seem aware of any danger, but looked on the approaching horror with…

…affection?

Starfire's eyes glowed green as she shot her starbolts down into the shifting mass of the shadow creature. It screamed and withdrew, and the girl suddenly jolted, as though she'd stubbed her toe. Her eyes flew open, and she looked around fearfully, as though she didn't recognize her surroundings. "Careful!" Shouted Solstice, even as she fashioned a lightning bolt and flung it at the creature. "She's been mesmerized! She's just waked up; she could panic and bolt!" Just as she spoke that, the girl turned and ran, fortunately, not right into Solstice's lightning bolt, but stumbled over some loose crates in the back of the alley, falling flat on her face. Her cries reached the descending heroes. Their attention drawn, the two focused on the girl, while the shadow demon escaped.

"Did we destroy it?" asked Starfire.

Solstice was shaking her head, her attention riveted on the girl, when a moving shadow emerged from the corner of the building and attacked the Elemental's shadow, seeming to bite into the shoulder.

Solstice screamed in surprise and pain, and clutched at her shoulder, which had started to bleed. But she quickly recovered, and, holding her shoulder, began to glow blue as she readied an ice bolt. Meanwhile, the shadow demon lunged at Starfire, clawing her with its immaterial claws, leaving claw marks on her abdomen. Her natural healing factor shifted into high gear, and the marks began to close, even as she readied more starbolts. The bolts seemed to disorient the creature, long enough for Solstice to mark out a magic circle with a shaker of salt she'd thoughtfully appropriated from the kitchen table. "Hey, ugly, over here!"

The shadow demon turned and made straight for her until it was only four feet away—at which point the trap sprang.

A brilliant light sprang up from the circle, trapping the creature, and Solstice began chanting the exorcism spell in a language that had been old before humans could walk upright. Suddenly, the monster roared in pain, flared brightly, and was gone, leaving no trace.

The alien princess flew to her friend. "Solstice! What happened?"

"I banished it by exorcism. Salt makes an excellent magical barrier. But we need to let Robin and the others know at least one demon's gone. And that we have injured," she said, motioning to the girl who'd fallen. The girl didn't seem hurt, but she'd had the wind knocked out of her. Solstice was still holding her shoulder, obviously in pain. Starfire looked on worriedly, but called the others, who soon arrived.

"Right," said Robin, calling for an ambulance. "So: report. What happened?"

Solstice related the encounter, and the banishment of the demon. She was still holding her shoulder, and Raven noticed. "You didn't tell us these things could attack us through our shadows," said the dark sorceress.

"That's because—uhf!—I—make that we—didn't know they COULD." Solstice had encased her wound in ice, and was summoning up her own healing factor. "Not everything about these demons is known to us, you know. They can still surprise us. This one," she said, "sure surprised ME."

"Great," intoned Raven. "So now we have to watch out, not just for ourselves, but for attacks on our own shadows. I confess, I didn't know that, myself."

"Raven?" Robin asked, "Will the charms protect us from that kind of attack?" The ambulance had arrived, and the EMTs were helping the disoriented girl get to her feet. Robin looked their way, signaling to them, "hold up a minute." He turned back to Raven.

"I don't know," said Raven, with a sigh. "As Solstice said, this particular form of attack was…unexpected." But I should have expected it, she scolded herself. After all, I'm half demon myself.

"We'll, see what you can do." He walked over to the EMTs and the girl. "Miss? Could I ask you a few questions?"

Solstice straightened up. Renseia walked over to her. "You okay?"

Solstice nodded. "But I shoulda been on my guard. This isn't like it's my first bout with shadow demons; I know they all have these little surprises. Hate being taken like a newbie."

"You know shadow demons. Sometimes one has a power others don't have. So don't beat yourself up over it."

"…no, just…I thought I was, was meeting a friend. I, I could have sworn I got a text from him, and he said to meet me here…" The girl was still shaken, and Robin couldn't really blame her. It was like waking from a pleasant dream into a nightmare. "Soulshock," Raven had once called it. Sometimes mortals reacted badly to an encounter with the supernatural, more so than others. Some had to be hospitalized.

"What's your friend's name?" He saw her look of hesitation. "We're not trying to pry, miss. We just want to make sure he's okay, too, that he wasn't attacked first."

"Oh! Okay, I, I understand that…now." She gave him a name and address. "Okay, we'll check and make sure he's alright." Robin walked back to the others. "Cyborg, can you check on this guy? I hope he wasn't attacked, and his identity used to attack her."

"Doubtful," said Solstice. Her shoulder was healing rapidly. "Remember, what drew us to these attacks was the similarity in the victims. This one's boyfriend," she gestured, with her head, at the girl, still being tended by the paramedics, "was certainly in no way similar to the rest."

"Yeah, but sometimes human predators seize on someone in order to get the information they need to go after someone else. It may be her friend was targeted in order to get to her." Solstice frowned; that was a possibility she hadn't thought of. She was coming to realize just why Robin was the leader. In so many cases, his experience and attention to detail counted for more than a super power.

"That's true.

"Well, we'd best keep searching," said Robin with a sigh. "I've a hunch these things are going to be a bit more difficult to get rid of than just this." Probably like flies. For every one you destroy, there's still about ten million more. It would have discouraged anybody else.

"Shadow demon at two o'clock!" Ravcn's call carried to the rest.

With one smooth motion, Robin drew a birdarang and threw it straight at the creature, just then coiling up out of a pocket of deeper shadow. The birdarang exploded in a flare of light—light especially designed to mimic sunlight as closely as possible—and the creature roared and disappeared.

But it had not been destroyed. It leapt out of another shadow and flew straight towards Robin.

"Azerath, Metrion, Zinthos!" Raven's dark energy reached out, grasped a nearby truck, and hurled it at the creature. It dodged…straight into one of Renseia's shadow-demon destroying arrows. Roaring in pain, it glowed brighter and brighter, than all at once disappeared in a flash of light.

The others had covered their eyes. "What's with the light thing, anyway?" asked Robin. "I thought they were shadow demons."

"Shadow absorbs light. That's how they maintain their cover. Usually, unless there's some other reason, when one is destroyed, it releases the light pent up inside," answered Renseia calmly. "That's one way you can tell if the demon's been destroyed, or if it escaped. Flash of light equals destroyed demon. Mostly." This last word was said under her breath, so that none of them heard. Then she frowned. "But that was too easy. Usually shadow demons put up more of a fight."

A beeping sound interrupted their discourse. "Hey, Rob, Cy and I are fighting with Gizmo and Mammoth over here by the old power plant. There's something weird about them. More—oof!—so than usual, I mean."

"On our way. Hold your ground." He closed the communicator, looked at the others. "Let's go."

The old power plant: Beast Boy and Cyborg were having a hard time with the two villains. Cyborg charged his sonic cannon and centered Gizmo with a reduced charge. The pint-sized inventor was flung backward a good ten feet, but got to his feet almost immediately, grabbed his own laser gun, and fired. Cyborg threw up an arm to shield his face, the reflective surface deflecting the beam.

Beast Boy had changed into a gorilla, and attacked Mammoth. But Mammoth simple picked him up and threw him against a nearby wall, almost knocking him unconscious. "Seriously, dude," said Garfield, "you couldn't even ACT impressed?" Neither of their opponents said anything, but simply made to close with them again.

"Beast Boy was right," observed Raven, as they emerged from her teleportation shadow. "These two have been possessed."

"Well, this shouldn't be difficult," said Renseia. "Robin! I need to get close enough to touch them!"

"Roger that. Titans, go!" And the group attacked, Starfire's starbolts hammering away at Mammoth, while Robin's birdarangs, reinforced by Cyborg's sonic cannon, systematically driving Gizmo back, ever back. They were aided in this by the fact that Gizmo himself possessed no powers of his own. If they could just keep him from using his technological arsenal, then they could beat him.

But strangely enough, Gizmo seemed more resilient to their combine fire than they had remembered. He climbed back to his feet, and reached for another gadget on his tool belt.

Cyborg's sonic cannon hit him again, and again, and Gizmo finally went down. Cyborg turned just in time to see Robin and Starfire manage to tag team Mammoth.

"Dude," began Beast Boy, as he morphed back to human. "Was it just me, or did these guys seem….more aggressive than usual?"

"It wasn't just you, Garfield," said Raven. "They've been possessed by shadow demons. I presume," she added, with a suspicious look at Renseia, "that the added stamina was another thing you neglected to tell us?" Renseia nodded guiltily. "Well, anyway." Fields of dark energy grabbed the two and pinned them against a wall.

"Alright, this part shouldn't be difficult," said Renseia. She went up to the two and placed her hands upon their chests. Immediately, they started to glow, and seemed to writhe in pain a moment, then slumped back down. "It's alright now. You can let them go."

"And how did you do that?" asked Raven, as she released the two. "I thought you said only sunlight or an exorcism could dispel shadow demons."

Renseia held up the palm of her hand. It was glowing slightly. "Stored up sunlight. I had a hunch it would come in handy."

"Indeed it did."

"Did the two of you see any shadow demons?" asked Solstice.

"Yeah, we ran in Ghostly right before these two showed up. We popped a cap, and he took off, came back with reinforcements." Cyborg indicated the two villains. "I'm guessing he used some kind of spell on them. Why? Is it important?"

"What did it do after that?"

"After?" Cyborg scratched his chin. "Ah, I think it made this swirly thing and disappeared into it."

"It made a portal while you two were distracted," frowned Renseia. "But to where?"

Solstice looked grim. "I'm afraid I know."

Meanwhile, in the Mythic Forest, Gevea was reading the letter Renseia had sent her. A frustrated sigh escaped her lips. "I guess I'll have to be more careful," she thought. "It looks like things have taken a turn for the worse." Another sigh. "We won't be going back to the human dimension anytime soon." Then she glanced up.

Terra was practicing making magical clones of Lilith and Ray. She was actually getting very good at it. But…

"Do you HAVE to make me naked?" complained Lilith.

"Hey, clothes are the hard part! I'm working on it!"

"Don't change anything on my account," said Ray, leering at the naked clone of Lilith. "I like things just as they are." Lilith shot him a hard look, and balled up a fist. "Hey, would you rather I'd have said, 'ew, take that away?'"

Okay, so he does have a point, thought Lilith.

Gevea walked out of the treehouse and approached the trio. "How's it going?"

"Fine," grumped Lilith, crossing her arms over her chest and looking away." If you don't mind R-rated clones."

Gevea laughed. "I'm sure she's working on it. But Terra, it's important that you practice other skills, too." Especially if we come under attack, she thought. "Why don't you give it a rest for a while, though. We'll move into something more challenging later.

For now, why don't you and your friends go into the house? I've gotta go pick some herbs."

"Sounds good. Say, you didn't by any chance make any more of those scones, did you?"

While the three of them were eating fresh-made scones, Gevea went hunting for healing herbs. But such was her concentration that she failed to notice a black vortex swirling up behind her.

The shadow demon was upon her before she ever saw it.

Gevea fell to her knees, a terrible pain shooting through her skull. Then, moving jerkily, she got up and headed back to the treehouse.

"Oh, Gevea! You're back!" said Terra, even while she was eating on a scone. Then she took notice of Gevea's unnatural gait, and blank expression. "Uh, Gevea? We didn't eat them all…"

"Look out, Terra!" screamed Lilith, even as Gevea raised a hand and prepared a bolt of energy. Lilith tackled a confused Terra, picked her up bodily, and ran towards the forest surrounding the treehouse, with Ray right behind.

"Lilith-OOF-what is—OOF!—going on?" asked Terra, as she bounced along on Lilith's shoulder.

"That's not Gevea. She's been possessed." The three of them tore through the bushes and brambles, the half-demon and the merman making better time that Terra could on her own.

"Possessed—OOF! How…?"

"I dunno how. Say, have you been putting on weight? Just how many scones did you have, anyway?"

"I'll carry her," Ray volunteered. "You find us a safe, or at least safer, location."

Lilith didn't hesitate. "My place," she said, handing Terra over.

"Hey! I CAN run on my own, you know!"

"Not as fast. Come on, Ray. This way."

"Right." He slung Terra around to his back. "Here. Hold on, arms and legs around me, okay? Hold on tight."

Terra did, and Ray broke into a dead run to equal Lilith's. He seemed to have some magical way of avoiding the worst of the thickets.

It seemed to take them an hour, zigzagging along, but was probably only half that. "This way!" shouted Lilith, dodging a bolt of blue energy as she ran, with Ray and a piggyback-riding Terra close behind. Another bolt blew up a tree on the other side. Terra hoped the forgetful leprechaun Gevea had told them about was somewhere far away.

As they ran, Terra noticed something odd happening.

Bouncing along on Ray's back, arms and legs locked around him, she began to notice that this…

…felt kinda good.

Good? It felt…really nice. "Mm. You feel nice," said, murmuring in Ray's ear, her head on his shoulder.

"Don't worry! I'll watch out for the ice!" He couldn't quite make out what she was saying.

Another blue bolt overhead. "Soooo niiiice," whispered Terra.

"Right! No ice!"

They came to a cliff overlooking a small lake. "Everybody, get ready!" said Lilith. "Ray! Come on!" And they all leaped into the air.

Lilith simply flew, but Ray couldn't actually fly. However, he could do something almost as good.

In mid-air, he changed, transforming back into his mer form. His tail, which was a horizontal cetacean configuration rather than a vertical fish type, combined with his powerful back muscles, served to propel him through the air for a short distance. Then, still with Terra clinging to his back, he quite deliberately dove for the water. "You go on! I'll catch up!" he shouted to Lilith.

"Sooo niiice…."

"No ice here, Terra!" And into the water he plunged.

Lilith flew on ahead. She well knew Ray's top speed in the water was almost the equal of hers in the air. Already she could see the smallish, one story ranch house on the shoreline…

For his part, Ray stayed on the surface, since Terra couldn't breathe underwater. It slowed him down somewhat, adapted, as he was, to swimming under the waves, but he managed. Splashing along at top speed, he followed Lilith.

Lilith landed just in front of the nondescript little house, fumbling for the key. She threw open the door, and shooed Ray, who'd transformed at the water's edge, still with a semi-conscious and dreamy-smiling Terra on his back, into the living room. She ducked in and slammed the door shut, holding it closed with both hands, leaning up against it. "I think…we lost her," said Ray.

"Think again. She's an Elemental; they can teleport. The only reason we got this far is, she didn't know where we were going. Gevea's never been here." She straightened up and looked around at him.

Terra was still clinging to his back, with only one foot on the ground. Her left leg was still partially wrapped around his hips, and her hands were moving back and forth across his chest. She had laid her head against his shoulder and had a dreamy expression on her face. "Sooo nice…"

"Uh, Terra? You can let me go now."

"Do I have to?"

Lilith looked closer. "Pheromonal trance. Ray." Her accusing eyes looked into his. "I thought you said you'd had your shots?"

"I did!" He spread his hands, glancing back at Terra, who was still death-gripping him from behind. "I guess they didn't take."

"Or you forgot. Hold still." Lilith marched up, looked searchingly at Terra's forehead, then abruptly tapped her forehead sharply with the heel of her hand.

"Ow! Hey, what'dya do that for?" Terra fell back, releasing Ray, her hands going to her face.

"You were in a pheromonal trance. You were groping the hell out of Ray. I had to hit a pressure point on your forehead."

"I was groping Ray?" Terra looked at the merman up and down. He did look like something off the cover of a paranormal romance novel. "Damn. And I don't even remember it."

Ray smiled a naughty smile. "I'll be glad to help jog your memory."

"Down, boy. Terra? What do you know about your aunt? Any way of stopping her?"

"Er," began Terra, still holding her head. "Not…not that I know of. I mean, I don't know what her, like, kryptonite is."

"What's kryptonite?"

"You said she was possessed," said Ray, becoming serious. "Okay. How do we go about UN-possessing her?"

"I don't know if we can under these circumstances," said Lilith, frowning. "First, we'd have to get her to hold still. That won't happen, not as long as she's like this." Her frown deepened. "I don't have enough raw power to stop her myself. The only person I can think of who'd have a prayer against her is dad, and he's not due back for another week. A cattle buying expedition. We've lost too many cows recently."

"Wait. Your father was gonna be gone a whole week and you didn't tell me?"

"Do you EVER think of anything else?"

"Once in awhile!"

Terra looked at Lilith, short, slight of build, and then at Ray, bare-chested and fabulous. Not for the first time she wondered just exactly what their relationship was. "Uh, Lil? How—how old are you, in human years?"

"Fifteen. Why? Has that got anything to do with-="

"How long you been hangin' out with Ray?"

"A little over a year now. Why?"

Terra thought, her gaze focused on nothing for a moment. Then SHE smiled a dirty smile. "Yeah, I think your dad's definitely gonna be going through the cows regular-like, starting now."

"Look, none of that matters. We've gotta figure out what to do when Gevea catches up with us-"

KABOOM! Something hit the front of the house like a bulldozer, and the whole room rocked. Dust motes drifted down from overhead.

"WHICH I THINK SHE'S ALREADY DONE," shouted Lilith over the echoes of the blast. "Quick! Everyone! Back into the back part of the house!"

Another thunderclap-like blast hit the house. The trio ran down the hallway to a small, cozy bedroom with a square queen-sized bed and a girl's vanity on the far wall. "Here. I've put wards around my room; they should hold a little longer-*

"This is your room? I don't think you've ever showed me this part."

"That's because I didn't want you to show me your parts. I—wait. Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"That's just it. The blasts have stopped." Lilith listened some more. She cocked her head, first one way, then the other. "Could've sworn I heard somebody say something about 'pro' and a 'bear' and 'tempus'? What…?" She went to the window, opening up the blinds.

"Lil! Watch it!"

"Don't worry, the wards are around my ROOM, not my WALLS. Opening the window won't…" And her voice trailed off, as she stared in astonishment. Terra went to look over her shoulder. Anything that could render Lilith speechless had to be some spectacle.

Gevea had gone nowhere. She still stood in the middle of the front yard, her hands halfway raised, readying another energy bolt. But she was standing completely still. She wasn't even blinking.

Even as they were trying to make sense out of the tableau in front of them, they heard a voice from the nearby hillside. "Are-are y-you guys alright?"

….

The trio in the ranch house tumbled out the front door. Gevea stood in the middle of the yard, unmoving. Automatically, their gaze went to the hillside where they'd heard the voice.

A figure wearing some sort of large, floppy robe was running down the hill. As they watched, the figure's foot snagged on a root, tripped, and tumbled down, head over heels, the rest of the way. "Ooof!"

They rushed over. It was a girl, seemingly younger than Lilith herself, with long blond hair, similar to Terra's, and watery blue eyes. Eyes that were squinting in confusion. "My glasses! I can't see without 'em!" The girl began to feel around on the ground.

"Here," said Ray, handing her a pair of large, round, coke-bottle-bottom style glasses. She quickly put them on, then looked up to see who'd spoken. Her eyes widened behind the glasses as she took in the gorgeous merman. "Oh, my God," she breathed.

"Actually, my name's Ray, but if you want to call me God, I won't complain."

"Back, Spawn of a Thousand Minnows," Lilith said, interposing herself between the merman and the girl, who couldn't have been more than fourteen. "Who are you?"

"I, I'm Sepia," said the girl. She looked around, found a high pointed hat on the ground, and put it on. All of a sudden, her attire made sense to Terra. "S-Sepia St. Martin. I-I'm a wizard." Then she looked embarrassed. "Well, a-actually, I'm a wizard IN TRAINING."

"Well, we're definitely glad to meet you, uh, Sepia," said Lilith. Sepia couldn't seem to take her eyes off Ray. Lilith felt a bit strange, watching that…

…Oh, shut up, she told herself. "We're glad to meet you. Er, what, exactly, did you do? How did you stop Gevea?" she cocked her head at the motionless Gevea,

The little wizard girl goggled. "T-that's Gevea? Like, THE Gevea? Oh my god! I, I had no i-idea!"

"Well, look, you did good. She's possessed, and it was causing a bit of a problem for all concerned. But what did you do to her?"

"Oh. I-I didn't a-actually do anything to her. I wasn't sure I could without hurting her. So I-I stopped time around her."

Lilith was taken aback. "Stopped time?"

"Yeah. The 'Prohibere tempus' spell." She fumbled in a pocket of her voluminous robe and pulled out a thick, musty looking book. Terra was reminded of some of Raven's books. "I-it's right here." She pointed to a spell on the page. "I-I wasn't sure i-it would work, b-but it was the only thing I could think of."

"Well, you did a great job," said Ray, giving her a quick, one-armed hug around the shoulders. "Nobody could'a done any better. You probably saved us all." He was completely oblivious of the girl looking at him like a kid meeting Santa Claus for the first time.

I see I'm going to have to have a looooong talk with Ray, thought Lilith. "Well, introductions. I'm Lilith, this is Ray, and this is Terra. Now." She turned to the still motionless Gevea. Now that their attention was drawn to it, Gevea wasn't completely motionless. As they watched, they could see her eyelids beginning to blink, and it looked like one finger had moved an infinitesimal amount. "How slow is time, for her?"

"I, I'm not exactly sure. B-but pretty slow. I-it'll take her maybe a thousand y-years to raise her hands."

"Okay, that gives us time, er, no pun intended. Ray? You go get the salt shaker from the house. You know where it is; you've eaten here enough. Terra? You doing okay over there?"

Terra was still rubbing her forehead. "Yeah, just still got a headache. And I bet there isn't a single aspirin in the entire Mythic Forest."

"You'll just have to deal with it," said an unsympathetic Lilith. "If I hadn't hit that pressure point, you'd have ended up raping Ray."

"To the immense enjoyment of us both!" came a voice from inside the house. Terra remembered just how acute merfolk hearing was, and blushed.

Somehow the notion of riding Ray was altogether too much fun for her to contemplate, considering that she had a boyfriend back in Jump City. She found herself feeling guilty, thinking of Beast Boy. What would he think if he knew about…this?

Okay, Terra, just put it out of your mind. Everything's cool; nothing really happened. So. No problems.

Ray came up with the box of salt. "I figured a box might be better." He handed it to Lilith, who was about to shake out the pentagram when Sepia cleared her throat. "Yes, Sepia?"

"Uhm, m-may I?"

"Are you up to it?"

"I, I think so."

"Thinking so isn't good enough. Maybe I'd best do it."

Ray came up to her and took her by the elbow, led her off a ways. "Lil, when was the last time you fed?"

Lilith thought. "About two weeks ago. Why?"

"Because your eyes are blood red. And your fangs are protruding so far I'm surprised they don't cut you. You know what lack of feeding does to you." Meaning that sometimes vampires become careless when "hungry."

Lilith thought. She WAS feeling the pangs of hunger. "Oh, alright. Here," she gave the container of salt to him. "Let the little wizard do it. Just watch her and make sure she does it right."

Sepia sprinkled the salt all around Gevea's motionless form. "O-of course, in order for this to w-work, I'll have to drop the time spell."

"Can you time that that exactly? I mean, she was in the midst of attacking us…"

"I, I believe I can." And, once the magic circle was complete, Sepia pulled out her thick book, turning pages rapidly. "O-okay, here we go. There isn't one release spell, but there is this. G-get ready.

"TEMPUS FUGIT!"

Immediately, Gevea came back into the here and now, readying and hurling other energy bolt. But Sepia was ready. She intoned a complex spell from her book. Gevea, or rather the demon inside her, screamed in pain, and spiraled out of her, leaving the Elemental gasping, on all fours on the ground. "Okay…what THE HELL just happened?"

"Oh, Gevea, you're back!" Terra ran up and hugged her aunt.

"Back? Where did I go?"

"You got possessed by a demon," said Terra. "Sepia here, stopped you and helped us exorcise it from you."

"Sepia?" Gevea turned to the little wizard. "I owe you a world of thanks. I, I don't know what I'd do with myself if I'd ended up harming Terra or her friends." And she came up to the blushing girl wizard, putting her hands on her shoulders. "Far as I'm concerned, you're family."

"I, I am?" Sepia seemed thunderstruck. "I really am?"

"You really are."

It was a crying Sepia who wrapped her arms around Gevea and clung to her as though to never let her go.

"Well," said Gevea, "Let's get back to the treehouse. Obviously, if Vlad's demons can reach us here, we'll have to make some changes. Uh, Terra? You didn't eat ALL those scones, did you? All of a sudden, I have the most FANTASTIC sweet tooth."

"Hang on just a moment," said Lilith. "Gotta go, er, do something." And she disappeared into the house. Not many minutes later she rejoined them. Her eyes were no longer blood red. "Had something in the fridge I hadda take care of."

"Oh."

….

Back at the treehouse, Gevea was treating them all to fresh-baked scones. "You all are welcome to spend the night, if you like. From what you've told me, it was quite an ordeal." Lilith nodded.

"Dad won't be back for a few days; he won't miss me. Ray?"

"Hey, keep feeding me these scones and I'll stay forever."

"I want to thank you all for helping Terra—and me—in our time of trial," said Gevea seriously. "Sepia?"

"I, I don't think I c-can stay. My master wants to know where I am every second."

"Who is your master?"

"The Magus Azrael. He's, he's very powerful. A-and very strict."

Gevea could understand that. One of the requirements for any wizard-in-training was to avoid contact with the opposite sex. And here was little Sepia, in the company of a testosterone-driven merman. Yes, her master would have every right to be concerned. "Well, tell you what. If you want to stay over, I'll have a word with your master, let him know there's plenty of chaperones. Can't guarantee anything, but I'll give it a try. It'll be a kind of a sleep-over, with you and the girls."

"Yeah! It'll be fun!" enthused Ray.

"Now, Ray. You know you can't sleep over with the girls."

Ray's shoulders slumped (and, Gevea noticed, so did Sepia's). "Okay, I understand. Maybe I'll just head home….Lucy's probably wondering where I am, anyway."

"She probably is." So it was a dejected Ray who left, shortly before sundown.

It was a dejected Sepia who watched him go. Really, she thought, would there have been any harm in JUST A LITTLE-

"Sepia!" The little wizard girl jumped as though pricked with a pin. "Whaddya say we give Lilith, here, a make-over?"

"Not. Hap. Penning. Fuggedaboutit. I'm fine the way I am."

"Oh, but you'll look fabulous, Lil! Promise!" And here, Terra's voice turned crafty. "And a certain young merman will be VERY appreciative!"

"He's altogether way too appreciative as it is! NO! En Oh. I am NOT gonna suffer the indignity of—*"

Shortly, Lilith was suffering the indignity of what she felt was a COMPLETELY UNNECESSARY make-over. The hardest part, aside from having to sit completely still, was listening to Terra, Gevea, and Sepia giggle and whisper as to how "oooh, that looks sooo hawt!" and "he'll REALLY like that!" Lilith didn't know what "hawt" meant; she hoped it was a compliment.

"Oh, and Sepia? I spoke with your Master, Azrael. He's okay with you staying over tonight. But he does want you back tomorrow morning at the crack of dawn. Said he wants to teach you transmogrification spells. WITHOUT your book."

"WITHOUT MY BOOK!" shrieked Sepia, "But, but, I, I haveta have it!

"Well, he says he's gonna teach you how to cast spells without it. That'll be okay, won't it? I mean, you can't go around depending on a book the rest of your life."

Sepia's shoulders slumped even more. She could see disaster on the horizon. Cast spells without her book? She had a hard enough time as it was. "Okay," she said.

Meanwhile, Ray was picking his way home in the gathering twilight. It wasn't far, and he could transform into his mer form and swim the rest of the way. Boy, would he have some stories to tell Lucy.

He didn't even notice the black vortex forming behind him.

The sleepover was a complete success, in that the girls got practically no sleep and ate way too much sugary food. There wasn't any television to watch, but they entertained themselves by telling stories about their greatest adventures. Terra told them about the time she'd fought Slade, there in the volcano, and how she'd turned into a stone statue ("I always wondered about that," said Lilith). Lilith, for her part, sorted through her memories and came up with one where she accompanied her father to the city to buy cattle, and the cattle had smelled "demon" on him and stampeded. It had taken the combined efforts of the city guards, her father, and herself to herd them back into the stockade. Even then they were nervous. Terra got the impression that Lilith was searching for an adventure that she felt would be suitable to tell, especially with little Sepia there. She also told one about going swimming with Ray and Lucy and encountering a pod of whales, which had rubbed up against them all, completely unafraid. "Wow," said Terra, "that would'a been sooo cool."

"Hey, Sepia. It's your turn." Immediately, the little wizard girl got nervous. "Well, I, I don't really h-have any great stories to tell. Just-just, y'know, everyd-day stuff." She seemed to shrink into the folds of her voluminous cloak, as though trying to hide.

"Aw, c'mon, Sepia! You must know some story! What about your parents?"

Now Sepia looked down at her hands. She was kneeling on the bed, and she seemed even more embarrassed. "I….I don't have any. M-my Master, Azrael, found m-me in a d-dumpster in Los Angeles, on Earth."

"WHAT! Sepia…are you kidding?"

"I wish I were."

"Oh, Sepia," said Terra, going over and hugging the little wizard, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring up a bad memory. But that's terrible! You were abandoned?"

Sepia turned and hugged Terra in return. "I, I guess. My Master said he-he looked for my p-parents, but never could find them. I guess you kn-know what that means."

Lilith and Terra nodded to each other, understandingly. A powerful wizard, or even a mediocre one, could have found the girl's parents—if they'd still been alive. That he hadn't meant…

"M-maybe my f-folks put me in t-there to, to hide me, to save my life. Or something." And both the other girls could hear what Sepia DIDN'T say: at least I prefer to believe that.

"Let's…talk about something else," suggested Lilith, soothingly.

…..

Morning: "Wake up, girls! It's time for breakfast!" Gevea was way too enthusiastic for this hour of the day, Terra thought.

The others began to stir. Terra, Sepia, and Lilith had fallen asleep on the king-sized bed, with Terra's arm around Sepia. She still felt bad about her questioning Sepia about her parents, only to discover that the wizard girl didn't have any. She, Terra, had had some horrific experiences with "parents," from which she was just now recovering, with the aid of her friends and her new-found family. But to be abandoned in a dumpster…that brought its own kind of pain. "You've got family now, Sepia," she'd told the little blond wizard. "And we'll stick by you, no matter what."

Hearing that, Sepia had cried most of the night. Both of them had just held her while she did.

Gevea didn't believe in such a thing as a "light" breakfast. She had emptied the larder: sausage, bacon, biscuits, eggs in various forms, toast, gravy, and a host of other things Terra couldn't easily identify. "Eat up, now. We've got a big day ahead of us." This last directed at Terra, who gulped nervously. Evidently getting demon-possessed hadn't interfered with her training schedule.

Sepia left just after breakfast, skipping along towards her Master's treehouse. She felt light as a feather. After all this time, she finally found someone to call "family." Master Azrael was kind enough, but he was very stern, and she had a hard time thinking of him as "family."

Which really was the way it should be. Master and student were supposed to be just that: Master and student. Any other relationship was frowned upon as distracting, to both parties. That was why even accomplished mages often sent their own offspring off to be trained by someone else. It was really better for all concerned.

"Sepia?" said a voice behind her. She whirled, recognizing that voice. Ray stood just a few yards away. How had he gotten so close? Not that it mattered…he was here. Once again, Sepia felt all tingly inside just looking at his bare upper bod. "Sepia? I just wanted to say a personal thanks for all you did. If that demon inside of Gevea had done anything to Terra, everything we've fought for would have been for naught." He moved closer. In the back of her mind, something sounded a warning bell, but her own developing hormones told it to shut up. She couldn't take her eyes off the gorgeous merman. And, and he was so close…. "So I just wanted to say thanks. You really came through when we needed you most." And here he leaned over and gave her a small, chaste kiss on the forehead.

The pain was the last thing she remembered.

"Try again," sighed Gevea. "It doesn't come naturally; don't be discouraged." Terra was trying to enter sage mode in the middle of her magical cloning.

"But why can't I enter sage mode first? That'd be easier," she'd said.

"That's precisely why. Suppose you're attacked? You have to be able to enter sage mode even in the middle of something else. So, try again." So far, all of Terra's attempts had resulted in several kamikaze clones. Lilith was still brushing off dust from the last exploding clone. "Good thing you used dirt," she observed, dryly.

Terra was the first to notice Sepia. Concentrating on something else as she was, she didn't notice the blank look on the little wizard's face, nor her jerky movements. "Hey, Sepia! I thought you had to get back to-"

"GET DOWN!" yelled Lilith, tackling Terra. A bolt of black energy missed them by inches.

"What the' hey?"

"That's not Sepia! She's been possessed! Gevea! Do something!"

"I will." The Elemental concentrated, casting her own bolt of energy. She couldn't make it too powerful; she didn't want to hurt Sepia.

But Sepia just dodged, pirouetting easily out of the way, and threw her own bolt.

Gevea threw up a force-shield just in time, but was knocked back several feet by the sheer force of the blow. "Great Elements," she gritted, clenching her teeth together, "Where did the kid get THIS kind of power?"

"Gevea! Don't hurt her!"

"I'm trying not to! But I gotta get her to hold still long enough to exorcise that thing!"

"I can help there," said Terra, and concentrated, her eyes and hands glowing yellow. Terra might not have mastered sage mode yet, but she knew all about how to use her old powers.

A spiral of earth sprang up from the ground around Sepia, coiling around her, pinning her arms to her sides. Sepia struggled against her bonds, but it was no use. Language like they NEVER expected to hear from little Sepia escaped her lips. "Hurry, Gevea, before she thinks of something else!"

Quickly, Gevea summoned a magic circle, and intoned the words. The shadow demon screamed in pain and spiraled out of the little wizard, who hung, panting, in the stone prison Terra had conjured. "Wh—what happened?"

….

"And you say the last thing you remember is Ray kissing you? Uh, where?"

"Out b-by the grove. Uh, why?"

"No, I meant where ON YOU did he kiss you?"

"Uh, m-my forehead. I-is that important?"

Gevea nodded understandingly. The four of them had gone back to the treehouse to regroup. More scones were called for. "It's alright, Sepia. I wasn't trying to pry. But it confirms a theory of mine."

"What's that?" asked Lilith, mouth full of scone. Remotely, Terra wondered how Lilith could eat regular food. She guessed that "something in the fridge" must've been blood. Or something sufficiently similar.

"Shadow demons prefer to possess villains. That's not to say they can't possess just about anybody, but…well, Ray had Sepia all alone way out in the middle of nowhere. He COULD have done a whole lot worse to her than a simple kiss. But he didn't. I think his own better nature held him back. That's why, I think, shadow demons prefer to possess villains: not as much 'better nature' to fool with." She sighed. "I guess I need to make some calls." And she called up her floating crystal ball.

The first person she called was Lucy. "I know what you're calling about, Gevea," said a grim-looking Lucy. "We already know. Ray showed up possessed to the gills, literally. Our own magi had a devil of a time—no pun intended—getting the demon out of him. Of course, he remembers nothing. He didn't hurt the girl, did he?"

"No."

Lucy sighed, not as easy thing to do underwater. "Well, good. How is she?"

"Fine now. Of course, she has no memory of the incident."

"I would've been very surprised if Ray had…hurt her. It's just not like him."

"Demons apparently have to make do with what they can. I guess we're lucky it was Ray. Someone else…" She left the statement hanging, but Lucy could fill in the blanks. "Well, anyway, I need to call this Master Azrael and let him know what happened." I don't look forward to that, she thought to herself.

She attuned the floating crystal ball. Soon, it filled with the image of a man with close-cropped salt-and-pepper hair, wearing a wizard's robe. His features were stern, and he himself radiated a sense of power, power almost the equal of any Elemental Gevea had ever encountered. "Ah, yes, am I speaking with Master Azrael?"

"You are. I presume you are calling about my wayward student, Sepia?"

"Yes, sir." And Gevea proceeded to relate the events of the past twenty-four hours to the magus. "So, you see, sir, her tardiness was not her fault."

"I see. And this merman of yours…did he…hurt…her in any way?"

"No, sir. He…wouldn't do that. The most the demon could do was make him kiss her. On the forehead, yet."

"Hm." And Gevea received the distinct impression that if Ray HAD hurt Sepia, he probably wouldn't live to see another sunrise. "Very well. But I expect her back as soon as possible." Here he paused and looked Gevea right in the eyes, a piercing look that actually made the Elemental uncomfortable. This individual might not be an Elemental, but he was still a force to be reckoned with. "I do not take kindly to my student being victimized like that."

Gevea bridled. "If you're implying we had anything to do with—*"

"I am not, and you misunderstand." He paused, and Gevea could see what looked like a lightning bolt crackle behind his eyes. "I'm saying, you now have an ally."

….

Far away, in Lianna, Vlad was watching the entire exchange. That was the thing about clairvoyance: people thought it could only be used to foresee the future. But when did the future begin? One could as easily focus in on events transpiring in the here and now. "Well," he said, through clenched teeth, "THIS isn't working. Those incompetent shadow demons…not a functioning brain cell between them." He paced back and forth in his throne room. The guardian demons shrank back in fear. When the Master was displeased, he wasn't above taking it out on the nearest target. "Well. Attacking her directly doesn't seem to be working. Every attack, she gains more allies." He paused, putting a finger to his chin. "Hm. If I can't attack her directly, and attacking her friends doesn't work…perhaps the thing to do is attack her homeland. Yes." And he rubbed his hands together in evil glee; sparks flew from in between them. "Yes." He brought up an image of a castle on his scrying ball. "Yes. Markovia is long overdue for an invasion, I think. Heh."

To be continued…

hey guys sorry if this chapter is late I've been busy lately hope you guys enjoy it.


	12. Patterns of Growth

The Teen Titans: Hidden Within the Earth: Chapter 12: Patterns of Growth

I don't own the Teen Titans, or their franchise.

The Mythic Forest: Gevea and the Council of Wizards met to discuss the "Terra Situation," as it had come to be called. Terra and her friends were not themselves present, against the advice of Gevea. But, Gevea had noticed, Master Azrael had not seemed to have any serious objections to their absence. To her, that boded ill. "All right, let the council come to order," the Premier Wizard said. "We are here to discuss the very serious matter of Terra and the effects of her presence here in the Mythic Forest."

"I protest," responded Azrael, calmly. "It is not Terra's actions that have caused our recent problems. It is the actions of others—one other in particular—that have caused our problems. Terra is innocent of any wrongdoing."

"Be that as it may," replied the Premier, "her presence here incites and instigates problems. Much could be solved if she were simply removed from the Mythic Forest."

Master Azrael stood up. Gevea was once again impressed with his sheer presence. This was not a man; this was a thunderbolt shaped like a man. "I cannot believe I am hearing what I am hearing, You, the Council of Wizards, devoted to protecting the innocent, are seriously contemplating essentially giving up this young girl to her adversary, all to save your own skins? What has happened to the council I knew? It wasn't that long ago that members of this same council halted the dark magical experiments of the human known as Adolf Hitler. As I recall, he threatened to release the power of the Ark of the Covenant upon mankind when it became apparent that he would lose his war. Two of us fell in stopping that massive power. And now you 'recommend' rolling over and playing dead?"

"Master Azrael, you are out of line. We recommend no such thing. But there are many places besides the Mythic Forest where she could abide, many of them uninhabited. Such places would be ideal hiding places for her…at least, for a while. I admit, it is not a perfect solution, but you know yourself that even this entire council could not go up against Vlad and even hope to survive. If straight military might is insufficient, then subterfuge is called for."

"That depends," growled Azrael, "on what you call 'subterfuge.'"

…

"Wow, Ter, you're getting a lot better with your clones," said Sepia. Terra, Lilith, and Sepia, the little wizard-in-training, were off by themselves, out by a rocky mesa. So far, Terra had managed sixty clones, of herself, and her friends.

"And you put clothes on me, this time," approved Lilith. "I was getting a little nervous about that."

"What," said Terra, mischievously, "you mean Ray seeing you naked all the time?"

Lilith rolled her eyes. "Uh, yeah, that was part of it. I guess." But Terra heard the hesitation in her voice.

"Lil? I don't mean to pry, but…just what is your relationship with Ray? I mean, you two seem pretty close…."

"If you don't mean to pry, then don't." But she hesitated again. Then, "Okay. We…went out a few times, but it never, you know, happened. We're just very good friends, and both of us are comfortable with that."

"Yeah," giggled Terra, "But friends can still 'do it,' you know. At least, part way."

"Terra!" hissed Lilith, cutting her eyes at Sepia. "Some things you shouldn't say in the presence of…*" And she gestured with her head towards Sepia. Sepia was a "tweener," somewhere between twelve and thirteen.

"It's okay, Miss Lilith," giggled the little wizard girl. "I know what you're talking about, a-anyway. And, uh, yeah, I guess friends could d-"

"COULD WE CHANGE THE TOPIC?" asked a clearly annoyed Lilith. Laughing, both of the others agreed.

…

Deep in the city of Atlantis: "Okay, Ray. Are you gonna tell me why you're sulking all the time, or do I have to beat it out of you?" He was currently slouching on the couch. Lucy had stopped right in front of him, her tail moving just enough to hold her steady in the shifting currents.

Ray scowled. That in itself alarmed his sister. She'd never seen him this down before. "Maybe you should. Maybe I deserve a good beating. Neptune knows I've gotten my share from you." He scowled further, and rested his arm on the armrest, clearly not impressed with her threat.

She swam over and sat by him. They were both nude from the waist up, but, even if they hadn't been siblings, such displays were nothing all that unusual among the merfolk. "Okay, now I know something's wrong. Talk to me, bro. Not talkin' ain't workin'."

He leaned forward, head in his hands. "It's….Lucy, when I was possessed…you know shadow demons can't make you do something that isn't in you somewhere, anyway. Well, guess what. I made beeline for that little girl, Sepia. Does that mean I have some…inner tendency to molest children?

"I couldn't live with myself, if that's the case."

Okay, Lucy thought to herself, this was big. Her brother was questioning his own inner conscience, his own inner morality, his own inner self. It wasn't uncommon—in fact, it was very common—for merfolk of both sexes to engage in widespread sexual acts with just about anybody they were attracted to. That was kinda the norm. But what Ray was asking himself was….was he attracted to children?

And if so, how to deal with that?

With that perception that only siblings have, Lucy saw deeper into his soul than he had let on with his words. He was questioning his worthiness. His worthiness of living.

And if he wasn't worthy of living….

"Ray, look. Lean back. Yeah, like that. Now listen to me. You know shadow demons are pure evil. Right? But when you were under the influence of one…yeah, you went for the girl. But only because she was alone. The demon knew the others were too well protected or too powerful. BUT….BUT…even with all that, the MOST the demon could make you do was kiss her. On the forehead, to boot. That was YOU holding it back. Any other merman….hell, any other man, period…I don't even like to think about what could've happened.

"But, brother of mine…you saved her from that 'what could've happened.' You, the inner you." And here she tapped him on the chest. "In here."

He put his hand to his head. "But I still went after her, Lucy. Maybe to a small degree, but still. How do I deal with that?"

She pulled his head onto her shoulder, letting him rest on her. "I don't know, bro. I really don't know."

…

"Have you seen Ray, lately, Lil?"

"What? No. Actually, I haven't." And now that her attention was drawn to it, she found that unusual. Where could he be? Usually he was underfoot most of the time. Now that it was mentioned, she found herself…missing him.

And that was weird.

"Where do you s'pose he could be?"

"Yeah!" said Sepia. "I'd l-love to see him again!"

Terra and Lilith exchanged glances. It might be wise to limit the little wizard girl's involvement with Ray.

"Hm. You know, in all the time I've known him, I don't know exactly how to find him. After all, the ocean's pretty big, and he could be anywhere."

"But don't you have, like, some special way of communicating with him?" asked Terra. "I mean, even back in Jump City, we had cell phones, and' such."

Lilith hesitated. Then, "Well, there…IS a spell I know."

A short time later: All three girls were staring into a small pool of water as Lilith made certain passes over it. The pool, no more than three feet wide, rippled, as though someone had thrown something into it, and, in the next instant, stabilized, showing, not their own reflected images, but Lucy's concerned gaze. "Lilith?"

"Hey, Lucy. Uh, have…have you seen Ray? We, uh, just noticed, it's been, like, a couple of days since, uhm, you know…" Strange, thought Terra. Lilith sounded unsure of herself for the first time since she'd come to know her.

"Actually, I was about to call you to see if you'd heard from him. I last saw him day before yesterday. He seemed pretty down in the dumps."

"He did? Over what?" Terra could hear Lilith's worry. (Yeah, right. Just good friends.)

"It, ah, isn't all that important." They all could tell she was lying, even little Sepia. But… "I'll have to fill you in later. But for now, if you hear from him, let me know, would you?" Lucy's own voice was loaded with sisterly concern. After all, her brother had disappeared…could this be another shadow demon attack? Or something worse?

"We will, Lucy. Guess it goes without saying, should you hear anything…"

"I'll definitely let you know." Lucy broke the connection. Ray, she thought to herself, I swear, if you're just off hiding somewhere, or with some new conquest, I am gonna beat you so bad every oyster around you for three hundred yards will have bruises.

Deep, deep in the deepest parts of the northwestern ocean, a solitary figure swam resolutely. Ray felt bad for not leaving a note or saying goodbye or anything, but what he was about to do required a lot of courage, and he had felt his slipping away. Funny; he'd never really thought about courage or his having any before.

Before, he'd been a happy-go-lucky playboy, picking up chicks on the seashore (where better? What with those tiny bikinis they wore…). But now….

Now something fundamental inside him had changed. Was that all he was ever going to be? Was he okay with that?

Answer: no.

This was not some sudden decision on his part. He'd contemplated it, albeit not seriously. But now, ever since the shadow demon attack, his resolution had firmed up. If he was ever going to regain even a smidgen of his self-respect back, to BE somebody, then he had to do something. Make some changes in things. Some permanent changes.

Nearly seven miles down in the ocean, he came across a massive citadel hewn from what appeared to be a portion of a solid mountain range. There was nobody around; even sea life seemed absent. Over the immense door was a very particular symbol, one known to everyone in the Mythic Forest, and many far beyond: a crossed trident and sword, both mounted on a shield, the entire symbol topped by a golden crown.

Last chance, Ray, he thought to himself, last chance to back out. But now, he'd come this far. Drawing in a deep breath, he raised the massive bronze knocker: once, twice, three times. Then he waited.

There was a long, long pause, and he was about to think there would be no answer to his summons, when the door swung ponderously open, and a green-clad figure carrying a trident glared suspiciously out. "Who calls?"

"Erm, uh, I do. That is, I'm Ray. Of, of the eastern sea." Here he was, at a place he'd thought about being, but never seriously. The legendary Order of Poseidon… He squared his shoulders. "I, I'd like to apply."

…

Noontime, or what passed for it here in the Mythic Forest: The trio still hadn't heard anything from Gevea, and so decided to knock off. "We could go to my house," suggested Lilith.

"Great idea!"

Only a few minutes later, they were raiding the fridge at Lilith's. Terra thought some of the items in the fridge looked rather odd. Sepia didn't seem to notice.

"So, how goes your training, Terra? What's Gevea like?"

"A whole lot better than my last teacher. She says she's gonna teach me how to summon white fire, healing fire. That makes sense; in a combat situation, you gotta know stuff like that."

Sepia sighed. "I just wish Master Azrael would teach me more stuff."

"I thought he'd been teaching you how to do stuff without your book."

"He has. But…" the girl shrugged, "guess it t-takes time. M-maybe I'm trying to rush things."

"You seem a little scared of him."

"Scared? No…well, yeah, sorta. I mean, he IS very powerful and very strict. But…" She paused, unsure if she should continue.

"But what?" Terra encouraged. She'd always been a kind of a people person. Even back before she joined the Titans.

"Well….I remember one time we went to a river, to, to learn about water magic." Again she paused, taking a long pull on her root beer. "A-anyway, I kinda fell in, and, and swallowed some water. I thought I was gonna drown."

"Did Master Azrael jump in and save you?"

The little wizard girl shrugged, her small shoulders moving beneath her floppy robe. "I-I dunno. The next thing I remember is coming to in my bed, with Master Azrael sitting beside me, looking worried. Like, really worried."

"So he DID jump in and save you. Or maybe levitated you out, that would make more sense. That was-"

"But that's just it. I, I don't know if that's what he did at all. You see…I never saw that river again."

"Well, of course he didn't take you back. It was a bad experience for you both…and he obviously cares about you." Must be nice to have a father figure who really cares about you, she thought, careful to keep her expression neutral. "So no, he wouldn't take you back to that same river…."

But Sepia was shaking her head. "No. I mean, I went back to the same PLACE. It's just….

"…the entire river was gone. There wasn't even a riverbed to, to show where it, it was."

…

The Council of Wizards had adjourned. "Well," said Gevea, "I suppose that could have gone better."

"It could scarcely have gone WORSE," grumbled Master Azrael. "I've never seen the Council so…reluctant, I suppose, is the best word…to take action." The entire Council, excepting Azrael, had basically voted to do nothing…for the present. "I suppose, had they voted to turn Terra over to Vlad, as a sacrifice, then THAT would have been worse. Though not by much."

"Half full, half empty. Yeah, I see what you mean." It was evident that there wouldn't be any help from the wizards. She'd had such hopes….

…

At Lilith's house: Lilith suddenly stiffened. "She's here," she whispered.

"What? Who's here?"

At that exact moment, somebody entered the kitchen. Both Terra and Sepia stared.

The intruder was a stunning young woman seemingly in her twenties, with long violet hair, golden eyes, wearing a black dress. She had a bemused expression on her face at seeing the trio at the table. "Lilith," she inclined her head.

"Mother," said Lilith back. Terra could tell the half-vampire was upset about something. "How are you doing?"

"Quite well. Aren't you going to introduce me to your food?"

"They're my FRIENDS, mother. Not food. We CAN have mortal friends, you know."

"My experience was just the opposite. But that was me; I can't tell you what to do. Mother Night knows I've tried."

"Might I inquire," said Lilith, her voice carefully controlled, "as to why you've come back? As I recall, the last time you were here, you swore you'd never return." Oho, thought Terra. Abandonment issues much?

"What? Can't a mother drop by to check up on her only daughter?"

Lilith actually ground her teeth, but her reply was polite. "I suppose A MOTHER can." The emphasis was clear. She turned to the others. "This is Terra, and that's Sepia, there. Terra, Sepia, this is my mother, Valkyrie."

Valkyrie, thought Terra. Choosers of the Slain, in Norse mythology. And here, in the Mythic Forest…mythology was not myth. "It's…a pleasure to meet you, ma'am. Your daughter actually saved my life. I had unknowingly intruded on chimera territory."

"Yes, that's usually fatal for mortals." And here she narrowed her gaze at Terra. "But I sense more than mortal about you." Sepia seemed to be trying to sink into her seat. She was clearly intimidated by the vampire woman.

"I'm told I have a varied heritage. Evidently, my ancestors…got around, as the saying goes."

"Hm. And you just happened to hook up with my daughter, who ALSO has a mixed ancestry….fascinating."

"Did you come here to discuss genealogy, mother?"

"Actually, no. I was hoping to catch your father. He's not around, is he?"

"No. He went on a cattle-buying expedition the other day. He should be back in a couple of days."

"Ah, yes. His legendary appetite for cows. And," and here, her eyes narrowed again, "it seems his appetite for them tends to increase whenever he's upset. You haven't been naughty, have you, child?" Lilith just glared at her. What kind of a question was that? "Where's your friend, that adorable merman, Ray?"

"We…don't know," grumbled Lilith. "He…seems to have disappeared. His sister was asking us the same question, just today."

"Disappeared, eh? That may have some bearing on my news, the news I'd hoped to give to your father.

"It seems Vlad has become more active. I'm fairly sure you already knew that. But what you may not know is…there are rumors that he intends to attack the mortal world, Earth."

…

The Northwestern Sea, the Citadel of Poseidon: Ray collapsed in his bunk. He felt like one solid bruise.

Combat training was work! And the bad thing was, his instructors were going easy on him, since he was new. It would get worse.

He really should call Lucy, let her know he was alright, at least (well, at least as alright as one solid bruise could be). Exhausted as he was, he got up and picked up his crystal, mentally instructing it to connect to hers…

"You joined the ORDER OF POSEIDON?! Are you CRAZY? Don't answer that!" Lucy was livid. "You're no fighter, Ray! WhatEVER possessed you to…oh."

"Right. That shadow demon. Lucy, don't you see I had to do this? I mean…what am I? I've been 'just a guy' for nearly sixteen years now. What happens when I hit twenty? Thirty? Forty? Whoever heard of a forty year old playboy? A SIXTY year old playboy?"

"Ray, this is guilt talking. We should've talked this over."

"No, Lucy. This had to be my decision, no matter what. And it's not just guilt. I really wanna make something of myself. This is the best way. This'll give me some…some identity, maybe I guess you'd say. I won't be just 'some guy' anymore." He continued when she paused, trying to think up some rebuttal to that. "Lucy, you HAVE an identity. You're the beautiful temptress sailor's dream about. And you have your seashell business. But what do I have?

"Don't you see I have to do this?"

Lucy was crying, her tears floating away from her face in the water. "Ray…I worry about you, don't you see that? Ever since our parents disappeared…I guess you're all I had. And now you're putting yourself in harm's way…for what? To wear a uniform and a badge? And, and I've heard things about the Knights Oceanus. How they change you, make you somebody you weren't before."

"Lucy," he said, gently, his own tears floating away. He hated to see his sister cry. "Maybe that's exactly what I need."

…..

The next day: Terra had put in a hard day of training when Gevea called it a halt. "Guess you can take a break for a spell…er, no pun intended, there." Lilith was back at her house, visiting (albeit reluctantly) with her mother, and Sepia had her own lessons. So for once, Terra found herself on her own. In a way, it was a relaxing feeling.

Though she surprised herself by missing Ray. He was sure easy on the ol' optic receptors. "Gevea?" she said, wiping her face with a towel. "What about these Knights Oceanus that everybody's so upset about? I mean, I gather it's like the army or something, right? Is that why everybody's so upset about Ray signing up?"

Gevea sighed. "The Knights Oceanus, also known as the Order of Poseidon, are an ancient order dedicated to fighting the forces of what humans call 'evil' and protecting people, much like the Council of Wizards. The difference is, the Council is more like a collection of scholars who occasionally find themselves in the role of warriors, whereas the Knights Oceanus are warriors first, but who are also scholars, scholars in the mystical arts, although not to the same degree as the wizards. Both tend to put themselves in harm's way to safeguard those who cannot save themselves, but the Knights…that's their primary role. Lucy is right about one thing: Ray is no fighter. If he's lucky, he'll be mustered out as unsuitable."

"But…but I'd think that'd be, like…horrible for him! I mean, yeah, I don't want him to get hurt or nothin,' but, but he clearly didn't join up just to be 4F'd! What's that gonna do for his self-esteem?"

"Keep him alive to HAVE self-esteem, for starters. The Knights frequently take on the most dangerous missions there are. They've gone up against Darkseid's parademons, and Nekron's minions, in the past. In the case with the parademons, their losses were…considerable." Again she sighed. "Ray could easily be the first such casualty, should that or something like it happen again. You've got a half-brother, Terra. You wouldn't like it for him to come home in a body bag."

Terra thought about that, and shuddered. Brion, dying in some far-off conflict against a mega super extra powerful foe? Her being called in to identify his body…or what was left of it? Assuming anything was? "Yeah, I guess I see what everybody is saying. But why do you suppose he felt like he had to do this?"

"I don't know. Maybe something to do with that shadow demon attack got under his skin. Ray does have his pride, and, yes, a certain amount of insecurity. He hides it with that playboy act of his, but... Then too…and this is just between you, me, and that tree over there…but I've long suspected there was a bit more to his and Lilith's feelings for each other than either of them let on. I'm not saying he joined just to impress her—he's not that stupid—but maybe he just wants her to be, I dunno, proud of him, or something. Lucy, too." She smiled. "You know how guys can be. They want the women in their lives to kinda look up to 'em, respect 'em." She gave Terra a wink. "I'm sure that young man of yours is no different."

Terra smiled, rubbing the back of her neck with her towel, thinking of Garfield. The day had been hot, and she was wearing nothing but her black bathing suit bottoms with a black sports bra upstairs. "Yeah, Gar does try to impress me, sometimes. He doesn't realize he doesn't have to-"

"Because he's a guy."

"Yeah." She paused. "And, I guess, to be fair, I, er, may, just MAY, have tried to impress HIM, y'know, like, every once in awhile. But I'm better at hiding it than he is," she finished, smugly.

"Bet you a day's training Raven's noticed."

"No bet!" laughed Terra. "That girl is positively creepy sometimes! Sure am glad there's nothing between them…I'd hate to get caught in her bull's-eye."

"Relationships are complicated, Terra. There may be nothing romantic between Garfield and Raven…but, given her heritage, I could easily see her as reacting rather STRONGLY, shall we say, if someone were to hurt him." She laughed when she saw Terra pale at the thought of an angry Raven. "Relax. I'm sure she'd do the same for you. But maybe you can see how Lilith is so upset. She'll probably pound Ray good next time she sees him."

"She just might, mightn't she? What do you suppose we should do about that?"

"Sell tickets."

…

Gevea gave Terra the rest of the day off, and Terra slipped off down towards the river. The day had been hot, and she felt like taking a dip in the river. There being no one else around, she simply slipped out of her clothes and dove in.

The shock of the cool water was refreshing, and she stayed under as long as she could. She'd long since learned which areas of the forest to avoid, so she wasn't worried.

But surfacing near the bank, she saw something that immediately caught her attention. Standing over by her clothes-pile was a large black hog, grunting and snuffling through her clothes.

As she watched (she found herself reminded of the cartoon warthog Pumbaa from the Disney movies), the thing rifled through her belongings, snuffling out her butterfly hairpin, that Beast Boy had given her, 'way back when she first joined the Titans. Its expression turned from curiosity to delight as it settled on the hairpin. It picked the hairpin up in its jaws, gave it a flip up into the air, and somehow managed to be beneath it when it came down. The hairpin settled onto the coarse bristles surrounding its neck, and the hog rolled on the ground briefly, settling the hairpin into its bristles. Then it went over to the water's edge, still unaware of a watching, open-mouthed Terra, and admired its reflection, turning first one way, then the other.

Oh, HELL, no. "Hey!" Terra scrambled up out of the water, not bothering to get dressed, "You give that back!"

Startled, the hog stared at the enraged apparition emerging from the river for a moment, then let out a high-pitched squeal, leaping straight up into the air. Then it switched ends and started running away—with Terra's hairpin still stuck on its neck. "Come back here!" shouted Terra, and started after the hog at a dead run, still naked, and, right then, not giving a flip.

The hog was fast, but Terra's training showed as she ran, deftly dodging bushes and trees, steadily gaining on the running boar. With no clothes on, there was nothing to catch on bushes or brambles. She caught up with the terrified hog, tackling it, and rolling them both over and over and into a nearby copse of bushes. "Now you give that back!"

"No! It's mine! I found it! Finders keepers!"

"My BOYFRIEND gave me that!" She caught the hog with a roundhouse kick to the side of the head, knocking its head against the trunk of a nearby tree. "And you are SO not stealing it!"

The hog's head bounced off the tree trunk. Images of stars, moons, birds, monkeys, and old Popeye cartoons fluttered around its head in a double circle. Its eyes crossed, and it fell to the ground, unconscious.

Victorious, Terra stood up, retrieving her beloved hairpin. She kicked dirt onto the oblivious pig. "Try to steal MY hairpin, will you?" She straightened up, fastening the hairpin into her still-wet hair. Then, with a furious blush, she realized the hairpin was the ONLY thing she was wearing, and hastily made her way back to the water's edge, trying to cover herself as best as she could with her hands. Good thing there's nobody around, she thought to herself. Naked pig wrestling…back home that would show up on Youtube within the hour.

The leprechaun over by the strawberry patch watched, puzzled. Now, he thought to himself, there's something you don't see every day.

Or do you? He couldn't remember.

…

At Titans' Tower, in Jump City, Earth, another kind of council was meeting: a council of war. "Alright," said Robin, calling the meeting to order. "Solstice, Renseia, perhaps you could share with us any information you may have gleaned from your…sources." His tone was professional, but the two Elementals could tell he was thinking they'd come into something.

Which they had, but none of it was good. Renseia sighed. "Robin, I had hoped to have better news by this time, but…truth is, Solstice and I have had…well, we haven't had very much luck in acquiring allies. And we'll need 'em."

"Maybe not. Just where is Vlad's fortress, anyway?"

"Robin, no. Trust me, this isn't something some guerrilla strike team could do anything at all about. You'd be feeding yourselves to the flames, and for nothing. It might even work against you: if Terra heard you were captured, or worse, she might decide to go after Vlad by herself, before she's ready, and get captured. That would be essentially what you call 'game over.'"

"Yeah," said Robin, rubbing his chin. "So…basically, he wants to use Terra as his super weapon? Poor girl; she keeps running afoul of the WORST kind of people. Not to mention the most powerful. So the current theory is, he wants to use her to…what? Take over the world?"

Renseia shook her head. "Not the mortal world. Oh, he wouldn't hesitate, mind you, but, to most of the supernatural community, Earth isn't really all that important. I guess…and don't be offended by this…perhaps the closest analogy is, say, an island in the South Sea during World War II. Neither the Allies nor the Axis powers would have much reason to get all worked up over it…providing it didn't have some strategic importance. You know, like location, or minerals, or something. Earth doesn't really have all that much besides Earthlings. Some beings collect souls, of course, and for them, Earth is a rare orchard with a good number of very tasty apples, but most beings don't really care.

"His main goal is to take over…Robin, have you ever heard of an 'Earth-Prime'?"

Robin nodded. "Seems like I've heard Batman mention it once or twice."

"Earth-Prime is the divergence point for all Earths, all the various multiverses there are. Anything that happens there, gets 'transmitted,' I guess you'd say, on down the line—to all possible worlds."

"Oh. I can see where this is going. He takes over Earth-Prime, and suddenly, he's ruler of ALL Earths, everywhere and everywhen. Then, he gets to do whatever he wants." Robin frowned. He knew the theory, true, but it still seemed like cosmological voodoo to him. Do something to one world, and it happens to another… "So he'd make himself the God-King of all reality or something?"

The two Elementals exchanged the briefest of glances. "Not quite. Oh, yeah, he'd do that, but it would only be a sideline. I mean, with that kind of power, he wouldn't even have to try very hard.

"No, his ultimate goal is the elimination of all mortals. All of them. Everywhere. And the establishment of his own personal version of, say, Olympus or Asgard or what-have-you. His own private heaven, with, of course, himself as God."

Holy Zeus, thought Robin, then shook his head. Where had THAT expostulation come from? Well, didn't matter. "So he could do that? But…what does he need Terra for? I mean, yeah, she may be powerful, especially once she gets a handle on all these other powers you've talked about her having, but still. From what you say, Vlad's more powerful still. What's to stop him from just going to Earth-Prime all by himself and making like Trigon, just with his own powers?"

"Two things. One, he needs to have Terra under control. His control, needless to say. Remember, he's vulnerable to her; she could, conceivably defeat him, literally cause him to come apart at the seams, his dual natures separating.

The other is, he doesn't know the way."

"'Doesn't know the way'?"

"It's one of the more closely guarded secrets in the supernatural world. There's not but a few portals known to be able to get anyone to Earth-Prime. Closely guarded portals, it goes without saying. And most of those have wards placed around them so that if anyone above a certain power level approached, the portal would either shut down or shift location to some random spot. There are places that would be dangerous even for Vlad to go. Nekron's dimension, though that's iffy. But if he tried to use a portal, it might send him there, then shift itself back to some place in the mortal realm. Not to the same place, but he'd be, er, a little too busy to track it.

"But with Terra's connection to the Earth…she could conceivably locate a portal, and, maybe, hold it open long enough for him to get through. Or at least give him an 'address,' sort of a trans cosmic URL, so that he could open his own portal, one not subject to the wards. And in he'd go. Like you say, he might not NEED Terra's power, once he got there, but it sure wouldn't hurt to have it.

"And as for his wanting to find Terra…there's a certain amount of 'revenge factor' built in. Vlad doesn't have any use for mortals…but then his daughter goes and has a kid by one. AND gives her up. Again, to a mortal. So, aside from getting her power, this is his way of getting back at Terra's mom.

"And believe me when I say: there's nothing Vlad wouldn't do for revenge."

…

The Fortress of the Order of Poseidon: Ray had once again collapsed into his bunk, in the room he shared with an Order member, also a newcomer, who went by the name of "Sharkster." "That can't be your real name," Ray had said, when they'd first been introduced.

"Why not?" The red-headed merboy seemed surprised.

"'Cause NObody is named 'SHARKSTER,' that's why!"

"What can I say? My folks had high hopes for me, when I was born. That," he continued, reflectively, "plus they hate sharks with a purple passion." Now, THAT Ray could understand. In the ocean, sharks were just ordinary carnivores, of course, but they did occasionally eat people. And fish, he thought, quickly, remembering his fights with Lucy. "ANYway, reason I called you: you know we got a holiday coming up. The guys are throwing a party after last class. Wanna come? A little inside info: there'll be some, uh, REALLY INTERESTING entertainment." Ray wondered what the "entertainment" could consist of. Merfolk didn't drink, and, even if they did, intoxicating beverages (and substances) weren't permitted on the grounds. Though some of the older members had been known to put away a few kegs in local taverns. Maybe a ballcast movie or something? That'd be nice.

"Sure." Aside from Mystic Arts classes and combat training, there really wasn't a whole lot going on here in the Order. He had often wondered, back on the outside, just what the initiates did for relaxation.

Answer: not much. Usually, by the time classes and training were over with, most of them were too exhausted to do a whole lot.

The meeting hall, which doubled as a chow hall, and occasionally as a gymnasium, was jam packed. Evidently, the brief respite they were all enjoying had served to renew their reserves of energy. Sharkster had told him there'd be refreshments, and he was looking forward to that. The constant diet of sea urchins and sea cucumbers was getting a little old. He noticed, idly, that all the celebrants were boys. Hm. Well, the girls must have their own deal going, somewhere. The two sexes WERE segregated, here in the Order.

It being underwater, there was no punch bowl, such as humans were accustomed to. Rather, there were several enormous, rubbery balloon-like affairs, with spouts around the edges. The "glasses" were also bulbs, which could be filled from the spouts, and sipped through built-in straws. He tried several; a few were a bit too sweet, but most were passable. Nobody dared spike the punch; the supervisors were watching for just such behavior. Just because merfolk didn't drink, as a rule, didn't mean they COULDN'T.

Besides…boys will be boys.

"Okay, people! Time for the show!" Sharkster took center stage, a couple of cohorts dragging an enormous crystal ball onto the podium behind him. "A good friend of mine caught this ballcast the other day. He owed me one, so here we go!" The lights went down, and the ball lit up.

At first, the show was a tad disappointing, showing only a wild hog snuffling through somebody's clothes by the side of a river. Funny, thought Ray; that river looks familiar.

He practically leapt out of his seat when the naked blond girl erupted from the river and began chasing the terrified boar. "Awright!" said the merboy next to him, "naked pig wrestling! You don't see THAT every day! Waytago, 'Ster!"

"No! Wait!" said Ray, practically leaping onto the stage in front of the ball, trying, vainly, to cover it with his own body. "Stop! This is wrong! I KNOW this girl!"

…

"He WHAT?!" Lucy practically shrieked.

"Sh! Keep it down, willya?" Her friend, Sheila, had promised to tell her why Lucy hadn't heard from Ray for the last three days. Now Lucy was wondering if this was all some kinda joke. "Remember, you didn't hear this from me!"

"Yeah, yeah, I heard the first dozen times. Okay, already. But FIGHTING?! You CAN'T mean Ray! Not MY Ray!"

"I can and I do. He's in detention, or whatever they call it in the Order. I heard from my brother. Not only did Ray start a fight, he practically started a RIOT. AND he smashed the Order's largest crystal ball, the one they use for presentations. The only reason he didn't get expelled from the Order outright was because the other guy didn't, ahem, EXACTLY have permission to use the hall the way he did. Plus, from what I heard, he was showin' some kinda porno stuff on the 'ball." Her face twisted. "You know boys. Whether they got fins or legs, they all got the same stuff below the waist. It was probably some sleaze he got from Earth. You know how that goes."

"And Ray OBJECTED? It had to be pretty bad stuff!"

"I don't know all the details, but that's what I was told. Naturally, he's in the stockade, or whatever it's called. So he can't call home 'till he gets out.

"Anyway, that's all I know. Remember, you-"

"-didn't hear this from you. Got it." Lucy couldn't believe her ears. Ray, her little brother, not only getting into a fight, but STARTING one? And, and destruction of Order property? What could possibly have prompted that?

This was definitely NOT the little brother she remembered. Then she remembered their conversation: "And, and I've heard things about the Knights Oceanus," she'd told him. "How they CHANGE you, make you somebody you weren't before."

Ray? Getting into fights? Destroying Order property? OBJECTING to PORNOGRAPHY?

Was her little brother changing? Would he come home…a different person altogether?

This just wouldn't do. She had to do something. She returned the crystal ball. "Lil? 'S'me. Look, didn't you—yes, I'm fine, how're you, stick to the subject—didn't you tell me once that your dad knew somebody real high up in the Order of Poseidon? Or maybe the Wizards' Council, or, or something?" She drew a deep breath, no easy task underwater, with its denser medium. "I wanna get Ray out of there. Like, yesterday."

…

At the citadel of the Knights Oceanus: Ray reflected on the events that had led him here, to the confinement cell.

He'd come very, very close to getting kicked out of the Order altogether. Starting a fight. Destroying property. And that ball had been the personal property of the headmaster of the school of the Mystic Arts. If he'd been TRYING to get in trouble, he doubted he could've done a better job.

He paced, swimming back and forth from one side of the small cell to the other. Okay, Ray, he told himself. Yeah, things went from bad to worse there. But remember what Master Theodoric told you in class: use your mistakes, learn from them. Analyze 'em, then decide what you could have done differently. Regrets are only bad if you don't learn from them.

Going back over the matter: he decided the REAL problem had been…it had been TERRA on that ball. Customs differed between humans and merfolk. Lucy, for example, wouldn't have cared. Merfolk didn't have a problem with things like that. In fact, Lucy would probably have been proud of it, and would probably have wanted a copy, for her own private collection.

But the fact that it was Terra made a difference. The same would've held true if it had been Lilith up there. Perhaps especially Lilith.

So what was the difference, really?

The difference, he decided, was that it would have EMBARRASSED Terra or Lilith, to have their naked bodies displayed like that. And that had BOTHERED him. He didn't want his friends embarrassed like that, for the, the pleasure of a bunch of stupid boys.

He guessed, swimming back and forth there in the small cell, that he COULD'VE just turned away. Tuned the whole thing out. Not said anything, not done anything. Just…ignored the whole ballcast. Concentrated on the fruit punch or something.

Except…except he really couldn't have. He just couldn't have. Not while hearing the other boys making their crude comments about Terra. What they would have liked to've done with her.

(Not that he hadn't had similar thoughts himself…)

So what would he have done different? He stopped his pacing, and raised both fists towards the ocean surface, over seven miles straight up. "NOT A NEPTUNE-DAMNED THING!"

…

The Titans and the two Elementals were still discussing potential allies when a fog-like cloud formed in the middle of the table in front of them. "Watch out, people!" exclaimed Solstice, "This could be an attack!"

The image that formed in the cloud was apparently that of a man in his fifties, with silver hair and red, glowing eyes. One look at those eyes and every one of the Titans knew this was no man.

Considering the aura of sheer power around just his image, it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out who it must be.

The image swiveled to face Renseia and Solstice. "Good evening, ladies. I trust I'm not interrupting anything important?

"Have you given any more thought to my proposal?"

Renseia had risen from her chair, visibly shaking with rage. "What," she began, "are YOU doing here?"

"What do you mean, what am I doing here? This was the appointed time, wasn't it?" The image of the being's head dipped downward, as though to check a watch. "Huh. I think my watch stopped." He glanced around, seeming to notice the Titans for the first time. "Who are your friends? No, wait…I remember, you told me about them." The head image swiveled from one Titan to the other. "You would be Robin, you're Starfire, you're Cyborg, and you," he inclined his head towards a more-pale-than-usual Raven, "must be Raven. How's your mother doing?" Without waiting for a reply, he turned still further, looking at Beast Boy. "Hm. You've GOT to be Garfield Logan, otherwise known as Beast Boy. You know, I know it's not my place to say, but you really should give some thought to changing your name. How about 'Changeling,' instead? After all, you can hardly be 'Beast Boy' when you're fifty, now can you?" Again the briefest of examinations. "Hm. My granddaughter could have done better…but she could also have done worse. LOTS worse. You'll do…for the time being, at least. Now." The image swiveled back to the two Elementals. "How goes the project? Any luck?"

"You've got SOME NERVE, showing up here, like this. And you're talking nonsense; there's no 'project,' as you call it, and-"

"Now don't tell me you haven't been honest with your allies here, have you? Oh, but…I see you haven't been… Ooops. Guess I spilled the beans, as the human saying goes. My bad. So you REALLY HAVEN'T told them the whole story?" Silence. "Renseia! And here I thought you were the very one who was lecturing ME the other day on the importance of being honest with our human allies. Guess this is the exception to that rule, eh?"

Solstice turned and addressed the astonished Titans. "Don't listen to him! He's TRYING to, to make it seem like, like…" For once, the silver-haired Elemental seemed to run out of words.

"Right, right." Vlad's image turned to the Titans. "Don't listen to me. I'm the, the…er, what is it I'm supposed to be, again? Right, I'm the 'evil supervillain,' who's out to, to destroy the world, or some such idiotic thing. This whole communication has been a con. Yes, that's right. Just a con. I'm just trying to sow dissension in the ranks, divide and conquer, and all that. So, don't listen to me. At least about any of that.

"But I will say one thing, and you all need to hear this: there's rumors that…our opponent…may just decide to target the mortal world. It's unconfirmed, but I definitely heard that Markovia may soon come under attack. That would make sense if…he…and," and here, he turned to the Elementals, "you know who we're talking about…were trying to draw Terra out." He continued to look at the two-pale-as-ghosts Elementals, his expression deadly serious. "So…take that any old way you want.

"Oh, and Garfield? May I call you that? You might want to let my granddaughter know that if she insists on wrestling wild pigs, she'd do well to start wearing some clothes. Some padding especially. At least knee and elbow pads, and a good stout helmet. And," he said, tapping his finger against his chin, thoughtfully, "maybe something around her midsection. After all, wild hogs do have those tusks. I'll send her some things. Only the best, of course; nothing's too good for my own flesh and blood. This mailing address be okay?" He turned a stern look back at the Elementals. "We'll have to…discuss…some things…later." He glanced back at the astonished Titans. "When we can talk, of course." And with that, the cloud dissipated, the table returning to its normal state.

Renseia and Solstice had both sat back down, both of them with their hands clasped tightly in front of them, both of them not meeting the accusatory gazes of the Titans. In the silence, one could have heard a pin drop. Funny, thought Robin. He'd never seen any of the Elementals sweat quite so visibly before…

"Okay," said Robin, "Renseia, Solstice? I think we have some things to talk about."

"And what was that," asked Beast Boy, "about clothes?"

To be continued….

Hey guys sorry if this took me so long to finish this chapter I hope you guys like it please read and review. P.s. Shoutout to Nitebreaker for your support, see you guys soon.


	13. Enemies and Allies

Hidden Within the Earth: Chapter 13: Enemies and Allies

I don't own the Teen Titans

…

"Robin, you've GOT to believe us! All, all that was just misdirection. A con, like he said. He, he completely disarmed your doubt by saying just that! AND made it seem like we were working in collusion with him! I swear to you we're not!"

"Actually, I DON'T have to believe you," replied Robin, coldly. "You've all been keeping some secrets from us ever since you joined up. I've always assumed they were minor ones…now I'm not so sure. Mind you, not saying I believe VLAD, but my faith in the three of you has been shaken, somewhat."

Renseia's hands flapped, nervously. This had been about the worst thing that could have happened. Even a straight-out demonic assault would've been easier to defend against. Which was why Vlad had done it, of course.

Sometimes psychological warfare is the most effective kind. "But we've-"

"I believe them," said Raven, quietly, looking at her hands. The group hadn't moved from their places at the conference table.

"You do? Why?"

"Because," she began, "the whole time Vlad was talking, I noticed something: he kept us off-balance, kept us from asking questions of our own, kept us from actually giving what he was saying any real thought. Instead, he dodged and turned, throwing in just what we'd expect from him…if he really was the 'good guy' who was simply misunderstood, or lied about. It's actually typical demon psychological warfare. I know a few things about demons," she finished, quietly. "Typical demonic misdirection."

Renseia breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Raven. I'm glad at least ONE of you believes us." Such was her relief that it didn't even occur to her how odd it was that it was RAVEN speaking up on their behalf.

"I didn't say I TRUSTED you," snapped the sorceress. "I still think you're hiding something. Just not THAT.

"But I DEFINITELY don't believe HIM. It was too, too easy, and came at just the right time, for it to be completely honest and above-board."

Robin gave the two Elementals a long, hard look. Although he was only human, still Renseia and Solstice found themselves fidgeting under his scrutiny. "Very well. For the moment, I'll give you two the benefit of the doubt. But the doubt's still there." He turned back to the Titans, deliberately excluding the Elementals. "Clearly our… associates …have drawn a blank on allies. Anybody have any ideas? Wild ideas accepted."

"I have one," Starfire said, softly.

…

"No, Star, DEFINITELY not. En Oh. Not gonna happen. It's too risky, too dangerous."

"My love, if you have a better suggestion, now is the time to share it." The two had drawn off into an adjacent room, upon hearing Starfire's suggestion. The others had been almost as shocked as they'd been when Vlad had just contacted them, a couple of them more so. All of them had been of the opinion that Star's suggestion went way beyond the envelope.

"I, I don't-" He turned away, wracking his brains for something, anything, that would be less…outrageous.

"Then this is all that is left. And you must admit, it has certain benefits."

He turned back to her. "But you could be KILLED. Or worse!"

"Perhaps, perhaps not. But I will certainly be killed—we all will—if we go to war against this evil demon without numbers on our side. You are our strategist. You know this."

But still he shook his head. "No, Starfire, I can't let you g-"

"Robin." Her voice took on a hint of steel, even as she took both his hands in hers. "You are my beloved, you are my team leader. But you are not my master. If I feel I should do this, for the good of the team, then I will do this, and you cannot stop me. I will do it regardless."

"Then let ME go. I'm team leader; I should be the one who risks-"

"YOU would DEFINITELY not survive, beloved. Not even for a second. Nor would any other of our friends. Even the Elementals could not be assured of lasting even a few moments, where I am going. Besides, your trust in them has been shaken to the core; do not deny it. You know it to be true.

"And you know I am the only one of us who could do this. And I will."

He deflated visibly. He knew he couldn't stop her. He could register his dissent, tell her it was a bad idea. But ultimately, he couldn't really stop her.

But he could support her, give her what she might need to have, where she was going. "Alright. But I can't give my official approval, you know. I have to register this as, as you disobeying orders. 'Because you are."

She leaned forward and kissed him. "I know, beloved. And I am sorry for putting you through this. But I feel it necessary. And I think you will see the logic in it, in time, if you do not already do so. I will return to you, that is a promise. And, should we survive the upcoming conflict, we will celebrate." This last was said with a decidedly naughty expression on her face. Now she released his left hand, and pulled his head in with her right, kissing him in a much more sensual way than before. "Who knows? Perhaps we will celebrate before the conflict. But, either time, I will require you to remove your mask, beloved. And…a few other things. I will, of course, reciprocate." Another kiss. "Now. Let us go make plans."

…

"You two alright?" Renseia had spread a large map of both the Mythic Forest and of Markovia on the table. "I take it you reached an agreement of some sort?"

"I wouldn't say we agreed," sighed Robin, "but we…both see the necessity of this…attempt."

"I have to say, it's something I would never have thought of. But it makes sense. Of course…Starfire, I have to say, your chances of survival aren't great."

"I am aware of this. But I have…much to come back to." As she said this last, she glanced at Robin, who blushed, remembering her promise. Well, if it gave her what she needed to return, he'd do it double. Triple, even.

"Then, I guess we'll begin." Renseia and Solstice got up and drew a magical circle on the floor with some chalk. But Raven realized this was no ordinary magical circle. This was a teleport gate, and no ordinary teleport gate, either. This one was a gate that led to a place very, very few beings had ever ventured. "Starfire, you stand over here, yes, right there in the middle of the circle. There. Like that. Now…Solstice?" And the two of them began a chant…

The circle began to glow, glowing so brightly that they couldn't even see Starfire. Finally, it flared up…and when it died down, Starfire was nowhere to be seen.

She found herself in deep space, far away from the farthest stars. It was very black out here; with her superior vision, she could vaguely see some faint spots that might have been either stars or galaxies. But they didn't claim her attention.

What did was a shimmering portal only a few kilometers away from her. This is it, Koriand'r, she told herself. Last chance to turn back, she told herself, unconsciously mimicking Ray's own thoughts. But where she was going was a great deal more dangerous that the Order of Poseidon. No one will think any less of you…

But she steeled her resolve, and flew towards the portal, the portal into Nekron's dimension.

…

The Mythic Forest: "He's back," said Lilith. The other two looked up from what they were doing. Terra was examining the souvenirs Lilith's father had collected over the years, and Sepia was reading a magazine. Both dropped what they were doing.

Lilith peeked outside the curtains. Sure enough, her father was just coming up the walkway. "Alright, everybody. You know your lines. Stick to 'em."

The door opened, and a tall figure walked in. "Trigon!" exclaimed Terra, putting her hands to her mouth.

"What? Where?" The figure in the doorway looked around nervously, and slammed the door shut. "Quick! Activate the wards!" He looked around. "Where is he?"

"Father," began Lilith, in a calming tone. "That was a…misunderstanding. One of my friends…mistook you for, well, for HIM." She turned to Terra. "Terra?"

"Oh, right." Now that she had time to actually see the figure in the doorway, she saw the differences.

Lilith's father was over seven feet tall, and covered with what looked like soft fur. He did have red eyes (only two of them, however)—Terra supposed that red eyes was the demon norm—but what had led to her misunderstanding was that he had antlers projecting from either side of his head. They protruded out only a few inches, but they were antlers, just like Trigon had had. "I'm sorry, sir. I, I misspoke."

Lilith's father leaned against the doorway and breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, good. I guess it was the antlers, wasn't it? Glad it wasn't…you know who." He regained his senses. "Lilith? Who are your friends?"

"Father," began Lilith, "this is Terra, and this is my new friend, Sepia. She's a wizard in training. Sepia, I mean. Terra is-"

"Yes, I can see the more than mortal part of her," mused her father.

"Terra, Sepia, this is my father, Antellis." She turned to her father. "How went the cattle buying expedition?"

Antellis seemed to turn a bit evasive, or so it seemed to Terra. "It, uh, went well. I brought home twenty-eight cows."

"I see. And how many did you start out with?"

"Er, thirty-seven."

"You ate NINE COWS on the way home?! FAther!"

"What can I say? I got hungry."

"Yes, but NINE COWS?"

"I was WORRIED about you, okay? I mean, you here, all alone…and that merman of yours hanging around…"

Lilith drew in a deep breath. "Father. This goes beyond mere worry. And you know Ray and I are…just good friends." Another deep breath. "I really think you should start attending Cows Anonymous again."

Antellis scratched an antler. "Do you really think so?"

"Yes. Yes, I do. Please, father, for me?" Terra had never heard Lilith use that "little girl" tone of voice before.

Antellis's shoulders slumped. He'd clearly do anything for his only child. "Very well. I'll start attending again." Terra thought what a wonder it was, to have a father, a demon father, even, who actually CARED about you. A tinge of jealousy touched her soul… "But I get the impression that's not why you brought your friends over. For that matter, where IS Ray, anyway?" He looked around.

"As a matter of fact…that's why we've gathered here." She looked at the others. "All of us. You see, Ray seems to've gone and joined the Order of Poseidon, and his sister would like him out of there ASAP. Didn't you once tell me you knew someone very important?"

"He joined the WHAT? They'll kill him!"

"That's precisely what Lucy would like to avoid. Can you help us get him out?"

Antellis thought, scratching his head. "Well, it's true I do know—sort of—someone with some pull. But he's not a Wizard, nor in the Order. In fact, he's a demon. A demon Lord, to be precise."

"That's even better!" Lilith literally jumped up and down, clasping her hands in front of her. Terra had never seen her do that before. Serious Lilith? Jumping up and down like a little girl at Christmas? No.

"Er, well, it's kinda not. We, uh, don't get along very well."

Lilith deflated somewhat. "You don't? Why not?"

"We, er, kinda got into a fight, back before you were born."

"You got into a FIGHT with a DEMON LORD?! How did THAT happen?"

"He, he made some comment about your mother…"

"It must've been pretty bad, for you two to hold a grudge all these years. What did he say?"

"It's not important."

"Yes it is. Tell me."

"It's really not important," he said, glancing at Sepia.

"Surely it wasn't THAT bad."

"Well, it wasn't good. We, we got to talking, and I happened to mention I'd married your mother. And he said it wasn't good for demons to marry humans, because it caused nothing but trouble. I told him that Valkyrie was a vampire, and he said that was even worse, since any disagreements, any marital problems we had would literally last forever." He sighed. "Then he said, offhandedly, that he could kinda understand it, since she had those big-*" And he held his hands in front of his chest.

"Right!" broke in Lilith, before he could finish the sentence. "So…then what happened?"

"I, er, punched him in the face."

"You punched him in the face."

"Yes."

"You punched a DEMON LORD in the face."

"Yes. Right in the face. Right in front of his minions. It caught him off-guard, and down he went. He was so embarrassed… Needless to say, we haven't spoken since."

"In all that time? Father, don't you think it's time you buried the hatchet?

"I'd like to bury it in his head."

"C'mon, father," said Lilith, taking him by the arm and leading him over to the crystal ball. "Time to make peace. C'mon. We NEED this guy."

…

The crystal ball cleared, showing what appeared to be a human in his forties. He had night-black hair, and red glowing eyes. He wore a red outfit, with what appeared to be black leather gloves and a belt. "So. Antellis. Have you called to apologize?"

"Er, sort of…"

"Sort of' doesn't get the lava field mowed. Either you do or this conversation ends."

"Look, I'm not calling for myself. I'm calling on behalf of my daughter, Lilith. You remember her."

There was a pause. Then, "Lilith? Your daughter?"

"Yeah. I mean yes. She has a request to make of you."

"Then put her on."

Antellis turned to his daughter, who was just out of field of view. "Lil? It's your show."

Lilith came up to the crystal ball. She looked at the being in the 'ball, and had to admit to a certain amount of intimidation. The demon Lord's gaze was steady, and his aura of power, even through the crystal, was…immense. She couldn't imagine her father, who was not a very strong demon, actually punching this being out. "Er, yes. I mean, your Excellency. I'm Lilith…"

"I know who you are. You would ask a favor of me?"

"Uh, yes. A, a friend of mine has made the mistake of joining the Order of Poseidon. We'd, we'd like to get him out."

"Would you now. Why?"

"Because we're afraid he'll get hurt or, or get changed in some way."

"Who is this friend of yours?"

"His name's Ray, of the Eastern Sea."

The figure nodded. "I know of him. And you are correct; he is not suited for the Knights Oceanus. But getting him out will pose its own problems.

"I have no real standing with the Knights. I was called to speak there once. But that was all. The only way I could assist you in this matter would be to get him expelled. Is that what you want?"

"It isn't what I WANT, but-"

"Why did he join?"

Another deep breath. Terra thought it strange that Lilith, a half-vampire, needed to breathe in the first place. Must be a psychological thing. "We think he joined due to self-esteem issues. Plus the need to, to acquire some, some identity. That plus he maybe felt the need to get some allies."

"Allies? For what?"

Lilith looked at Terra. "One of my friends is under attack by Vlad of Lianna. I don't know if you kn-"

"We're acquainted, though the acquaintance is not exactly a positive one. So. Tell me about this. Why is Vlad after your friend?"

"She's his granddaughter. And apparently very powerful, at least potentially so. Uhm, here, here she is, in fact. Here, Terra, say hi to, uh…I don't believe I caught your name?"

"I am Nemesis, Demon Lord of the Ninth Realm. Now introduce me to your friend."

Lilith pulled an unwilling Terra into the range of the crystal ball. "This is Terra. And, uh, my good friend."

"I see," said Nemesis slowly, his eyes narrowing. Terra got the impression he was examining more than just her outer appearance. "Yessss, I can see the extra mortal part of her. I can see why he'd be interested…but I sense there is more?"

"We think Vlad is trying to find a way to get to Earth-Prime. He wants to eliminate all mortals. And he could, if he gets there."

"I see. Yes, he could. Very well, you have my support."

"Good," said Lilith, breathing a sigh of relief. "So how soon can Ray come home?"

"I did not mean that. I meant you have my support. Vlad and I are old…" and here the Demon Lord smiled coldly, "friends. I do not fear him.

"But as of now, he has reason to fear me."

…

Nekron's dimension: It was COLD here, much more so than ordinary outer space. Starfire could sense the nature of the dimension literally PULLING the energy out of her. "So. Koriand'r of Tameran. Have you come to surrender to the inevitable?" Nekron's skeletal form floated weightlessly in the nothingness that was his universe.

"N-no, I have not. I have come to, to ask for your help."

"My HELP? The last I recall, you and your world REJECTED my help."

"No. We rejected your DOMINATION. There is a difference."

"Enough semantics. You haven't long here in my place. What is your reason for being here?"

"Vlad of Lianna is attacking my world, my adopted world, that is. He seeks to eliminate all mortals. You are Death Incarnate. But you cannot have death without life. And immortal life…will eliminate death, will it not? So are not your interests threatened?"

"Hm." Nekron's strengthless voice nonetheless brought fear to Starfire's heart. This was, after all, the place where the Black Lanterns had originated… "You make a telling point. Without mortals… Very well. The matter is under consideration. I will summon my general. Krona!" And in a flash of black light, the fallen Guardian appeared. "You called, my Master?'

"I did indeed. You may be needed to assist the Earthlings in battling a foe of great power."

"WHAT! Master, you, you cannot be serious! It wasn't all that long ago that the Earthlings repelled your offer of life-in-death. How can you possibly—"

"As you said, I am Master. You are servant. Will you obey my commands, or do I need to select another general?"

Krona took a deep, unnecessary breath, there in the airless nothingness of Nekron's dimension. He well knew what it would be like to be demoted. "I, I obey, my Master. Tell me what I must do."

"That has not yet been decided." Nekron turned back to Starfire, now shivering as her stored-up solar energy was rapidly drained. She hoped this wouldn't go on much longer. "Koriand'r of Tameran. As I said, you make a telling point. But…I require a sacrifice, in order to secure my assistance."

Starfire's skin tingled with fear. A sacrifice? "What…sort of sacrifice?"

"I am thinking of yourself."

Starfire had halfway prepared for this, which was good, seeing as how she could tell she didn't have long to last here. "I would hardly be much sacrifice, Great One. But…perhaps we could provide you with one much better."

"Oh? Who?"

A few seconds later. "Hm. It is true…that would be much more…enjoyable than your own life-force. But how will you arrange this?"

A few more seconds. "Ah. I see. And…of course, it will require my assistance. I see the value in your plan." Nekron seemed to think for a moment. Then, "Very well. You have my alliance. Krona!" The disgraced Qwardian jerked to attention. "You will place yourself and my forces at the command of the Earthians."

Krona was clearly unwilling. "Master, I-*"

"Do you question my commands?" In spite of the seeming strengthlessness in Nekron's voice, Starfire could hear the force in it. There would be no questioning these commands.

Krona visibly deflated. "No, Master. I…will obey."

"Excellent. Then you will remain my general." He turned to Starfire, who was turning pale. "My Black Lanterns will accompany you to Earth, and provide the way. But," and here the Master of Death raised a skeletal finger for emphasis, "my assistance is conditional. If you cannot provide this sacrifice—for any reason or reasons—then you will BE that sacrifice. Is that understood?"

"I…yes, Great Lord." Robin…I hope you will not be too disappointed if I cannot celebrate with you…

…

"Now, about this Azure Jewel you mentioned…tell us about that."

Renseia drew a deep breath. They'd just had perhaps the closest call any of them could think of. It was true, they could proceed without the Titans' help, but… "To be honest, not a great deal is known about it. We know it was created, in an ancient time, and charged in such a way that it has a very…negative…effect on evil beings. Supposedly, it can ward off and / or purify evil. Frankly, I doubt it can do all that; you know how rumors go. I'm sure it can do SOMEthing, but exactly what, well, we'd have to get it and see. Problem is, no one knows exactly where it is. Last anyone heard, some mortal had found it and hidden it away, presumably for his own use or just because he thought it was pretty."

"Well, that's a big help," muttered Raven. "So that's your plan? I'm beginning to understand how Vlad's been such an issue with you. I doubt you could kill a cockroach—"

"Enough, Raven. As for now, Renseia and Solstice—and Gevea, when she returns—are our allies. You needn't insult them." He turned to Renseia. Solstice was still a bit shell-shocked from Vlad's communication. "So what's the LAST KNOWN LOCATION for this jewel? Perhaps that'll help us find it."

…

The meeting broke up soon after. Beast Boy found himself outside of Raven's room. She'd left abruptly, and had barely touched her food. "Rae? 'S'me."

"Go away. I need to be alone."

"I brought waffles. Blueberry waffles. Loaded with maple syrup."

The door slid open, to reveal a sight Garfield Logan would never have expected to see. Raven stood in the door…but her face was all puffy, her eyes red. Not the normal—for her—red of her demonic heritage, but the red of someone who'd been… "Rae, have you been crying?"

She sniffled. "What if I have? I'm allowed, aren't I? I mean, every once in awhile?"

He held up the plate of food. "C'mon, Rae. We need to talk."

"About what?" But she moved back, allowing him entrance. She went over and sat on her bed. He followed her, still carrying the tray of food. Once they were seated, he handed it to her, and she dove in as though starving. She finished off the waffles, then placed the tray on the nightstand. Garfield reflected as to how he'd never get used to the strange idols in Raven's room. They didn't seem to be made of any kind of matter he was familiar with.

"Well, for starters, why are you crying? I mean, you seemed to have it together up there, and then…all of a sudden…"

She was silent for a long, long time, and he was beginning to think she wasn't going to answer. Then, "I…it's noth-"

He put an arm around her. "Rae. Anything that gets you this upset is NOT nothing. So back up and try again."

She got a tissue from the nightstand and blew her nose. Funny, he thought to himself, he'd never seen Raven blow her nose before. "Garfield…it's just that I worry. Starfire's out there trying to recruit Death himself. That alone would be bad enough…but if Vlad succeeds…" Abruptly she turned to him, there on the edge of the bed. "You'll die. I mean, you WILL DIE. That thought…disturbs me."

"Disturbs you? I would've thought you'd be glad to get rid of me. I mean, we're always argu-"

"DON'T EVEN JOKE LIKE THAT!" She calmed down some, raising her face to the ceiling, hands over her face. "I…I never told you this, but…I've long considered you my best friend. Sometimes, I've considered you my ONLY friend. I remember the time when Malchior used me like he did. You were there for me. And, and you saved me from that thing that Adonis became. I, I don't even like to think what might have happened had you not been there. And now here…you could die. And there wouldn't be a thing in the world I could do about it. Even if Vlad's plan, to go to Earth-Prime, doesn't succeed, I know you well enough to know you wouldn't hesitate to charge into battle to save Terra. Not that I could blame you." She paused, ruffling her Kleenex. "Maybe…maybe I'm a little envious of, of what you and she have."

"And our so-called 'allies' only plan sucks harder than a black hole."

He tightened his grip around her, and she leaned her head against his shoulder. "No, Rae. You're not envious. And it's not selfish to want your friends to…live. If that's the case, we're ALL selfish.

"I want YOU to live, too. And, yeah, I think of you as MY best friend. Don't take this the wrong way, but…anything I'd do for Terra, I'd do for you."

"You're just saying that. You don't really mean it. You CAN'T."

"You're the empath. Was I lying?"

"No." This said in a very small voice. Again, more ruffling of the Kleenex.

"So come on now. Yeah, these Elementals…I don't know if I totally trust them either. You know, in mythology, supernatural beings always seem to have their own agenda. So they could easily be hiding something. But then again, maybe not. In any case, what counts right now is working together, finding some way of defeating Vlad."

She didn't say anything for a while. Then, "I made a spectacle of myself up there."

"You were under a lot of stress. We all are. They'll understand. And if they don't," here he smiled his usual "pranking" smile, "I'll turn into a rhinoceros and' go all horny on 'em."

That actually elicited a laugh from her. Raven's laughs were few and far between, and he'd come to treasure each and every one. "So come on, Best Friend of Mine. Let's go out there and assure them you're alright, okay?"

…

Master Azrael had returned to his own treehouse. Gevea had left to return to Terra and the others; she'd sensed they were at Lilith's house, though she didn't know of the events that had transpired there.

There was a knock on the door. Opening it, Azrael was surprised to see his visitor. "Valkyrie? Come in, come in. Have a seat." The tall vampire woman entered. Azrael noticed her distraught countenance. Without saying anything, he began the preparations for making tea. Some herbal tea might be in order. "I didn't know you were back in this realm."

"I hadn't intended to return but…I felt like I had to check in on Lilith. Turns out I had some reason to do so. Her merman friend has gone and gotten himself in lots of trouble. And I can tell Lilith is…well, maybe it's the pheromones. But she's…sort of into him, if you get my meaning." Pause. "I just hope HE hasn't gotten into HER, if you get my meaning. Though I don't think he has. Yet."

"Your daughter is extremely mature for her age. I doubt she would be…persuaded…quite so easily." He brought out some china tea cups that would have fetched a small fortune on Earth. Somehow, tea just tastes better when served in expensive china.

Valkyrie sighed, a human gesture she'd picked up. "I worry about her. With no maternal influence…and Antellis isn't likely to warm up to any other female. Not with what happened between us."

"Is there no chance you two could get back together?"

Valkyrie shook her head, her purple hair rippling down her back. "I don't see how. You know what happened. It was all my fault. I should never have trusted that bastard—but I did. I thought he loved me. Turns out he was only using me. Of course." She sipped her tea. It was nice and hot, just like she liked it. "I suppose I'll never learn."

"Or perhaps you will. What about if you simply apologized to him? Do you not think he'd accept that?"

"I don't know. I...saw the look in his eyes, the old look he had when we were... but he was…cordial. Polite, even. But…nothing more.

Master Azrael sat down on his own seat. "It sounds," he began, "like the only thing standing in the way of reconciliation is you."

Another sigh. "It is. My own stupid pride. That plus the fact that I feel he could do so much better."

Azrael reached over and touched her wrist. "You know he could not."

She got up and began pacing. "I KNOW it, I just can't BELIEVE it. In here." And she pointed to her heart.

Azrael hesitated. This was a very delicate matter, and he did not wish to say the wrong thing, and the wrong thing could so easily be said. But he opened his mouth to tell her that time was passing, and that there would never be a better time to make things right than now. He started to remind her of his own experience; sometimes you DON'T have tomorrow. But just then, there was a chime from the crystal ball, indicating an incoming call. Azrael answered, and was not surprised to see Gevea's countenance displayed upon the ball. "Gevea? To what do I owe the honor?"

"Just thought I should keep you in the loop. Lilith has gone and secured some allies. Some apparently powerful allies.

"Are you familiar with Nemesis, Lord of the Ninth Realm?"

"I am indeed. And you are right; he is an extremely powerful ally, or can be, when it suits his purposes. But I suspect in the case of Lilith, he will honor his commitment to the fullest. You know of his relationship with her, do you not?"

"I'm…aware of it.

"Then perhaps you know there is nothing he would not do for her, his own god-daughter".

…

Flashback: Fifteen years ago:

Antellis and Valkyrie met in the Great Hall of Nemesis, in the city of Dys, in the Ninth Realm. "I sense him coming, my love. You'd best go."

"Yes," said Antellis. He still couldn't believe he'd actually agreed to come here, where nightmares were born…and sometimes made into reality. He left via an oaken door to the left.

Nemesis strode into the vast room as befitted the Lord of the Realm. He wore a simple tunic and pants combination of thick red fabric, replete with black leather boots and belt, with a black cape around his shoulders. He carried with him his golden, tripled-pointed scepter, an indication of his rank. But his real rank shone forth from his eyes, was evident in his demeanor. All the lesser demons present prostrated themselves and covered their eyes. The Lord of the Ninth Realm approached the vampire woman. "Valkyrie," he said, with a nod of his head.

She bowed her head in return, hands crossed in front of her, a gesture of respect. "My Lord."

Nemesis turned his attention to the small bassinet to his right. Within was a small baby, whose eyes were busily taking in her surroundings. Valkyrie picked up the infant, and held her tenderly. "This is Lilith."

"Named for my sister. You honor her." He held out his arms, and, after a brief moment of hesitation, Valkyrie placed the cooing infant into the Demon Lord's hands.

Nemesis looked down at the baby. Completely unafraid, the child looked back at the red-eyed stranger holding her. She reached up towards his face. "So you are Lilith," he murmured, almost too low for even Valkyrie's superlative hearing to hear.

Valkyrie cleared her throat. "I, I have a favor to ask of you, Great One."

Nemesis raised an eyebrow, his attention diverted away from the child. "And that favor is?"

"I…we…would like you to be Lilith's godfather. Er, or demonfather, whichever term befits. Her protector and provider, should anything…" She trailed off. Just because one is immortal does not mean that they are assured of never dying.

And there are fates worse than mere death.

Nemesis looked back down at the child in his arms. "I, too, once had a daughter. She was taken from me by treachery." He paused for little more than a second. Then, "I grant your request, Valkyrie, of the Northwest Territory, and that of your wisely-absent husband. I will be Lilith's godfather. I will see that she wants for nothing.

"And, should she need it, I will be her protector."

…

The present day: Azrael and Valkyrie were still discussing matters when Azrael's crystal ball chimed, and the image of Solstice appeared. "Master Azrael."

"Solstice." The wizard inclined his head. "I take it you have news?"

"Yes, but not of any particularly good kind. I imagine you already know about Ray and his decision to join the Order of Poseidon. And Gevea contacted us. Lilith has…well, perhaps 'secured' is too strong a term, but she has asked the assistance of the Demon Lord Nemesis."

"I am aware of this. I see little good coming out of this."

"As do I. However, we just received a most disturbing communique from Vlad." She went on to detail Vlad's virtual monologue. "It's driven a serious rift between us and the Titans, as I suppose you see."

"Indeed."

"But also, one of their number, Starfire, has gone seeking the assistance of Nekron."

"Nekron!?"

"You heard right. The rationale is, since Vlad intends to eliminate mortal life, Nekron's interests, which are based on the death of mortals, would be seriously impacted. To say the least."

Master Azrael scratched his chin. "I can see Nekron as…responding positively to such a sales pitch. But I would never trust him."

"Nor I." She shifted slightly, in her seat. "We were telling the Titans about the Jewel of Azure, and how it might help us. But, of course, none of us know where to find it. I don't suppose you'd have any insight as to where it might be?"

Azrael shook his head. "The jewel was constructed to obscure any means of magical location. The last I had heard, a mortal had found it and taken it into his possession."

"You wouldn't happen to know which mortal, would you?"

"As a matter of fact, I would. That mortal was King Richard the Third, monarch of Markovia, and the father of the man to whom Terra was so unwisely entrusted."

"Richard? King Richard the IV?" Azrael could see Solstice thinking, and thinking hard. "This…complicates matters. Our…communication…with Vlad indicated danger to Markovia. Although he tried to make it seem as though there was another party involved, it isn't difficult to discern from where this danger truly lies."

"Indeed," said Master Azrael, his countenance darkening. "I have not forgotten the great wrong Vlad did to me, all those years ago. Perhaps now a reckoning can be achieved."

…

Terra found Sepia sitting up against the wall of the treehouse, sniffling. "Sepia? What's wrong?"

"I-it's n-nothing."

Terra sat down by the little wizard. "It's making you cry. It's not nothing. Now come on. Spill. Or do I haveta tickle it outta ya?"

Sepia laughed at that. "W-well…it's just…Miss Lilith got that Demon Lord to, to, throw in with us. I g-guess I'm feelin' kinda useless."

Terra hugged the little girl. "Oh, Sepia! You're not useless! Just you being here with us…why, if it hadn't been for you, when Gevea was possessed by that shadow demon, she might 'a killed us all! But she didn't, because you were there to stop her."

"But that was just an accident. I just h-happened to be there."

"And you JUST SO HAPPENED to not only decide to get involved, but you JUST SO HAPPENED to know the exact spell needed to stop her without hurting her? That's a lotta 'just so happens,' Sepia. Lots of people back on Earth believe there ARE no accidents, that everything happens for a reason. I'm startin' to believe that myself."

Still the little wizard girl remained unconvinced. "An', without my book, I can't hardly do nuthin,'" she grumped.

"Do nothing?!" Terra half-exclaimed. "Sepia, you don't remember this, I know, but…you know shadow demons can only work with what they've got, right?" Sepia nodded, unsure where this was heading. "Well, when you were under the influence of the shadow demon, and' came after us, you shot a bolt at Gevea that darn near knocked her on her keester. I'm not kidding. It must've driven her back fifteen, maybe twenty yards. And she was READY for it, mind you!"

Sepia looked stunned, looking at her hands, first one, then the other. "I did all that? A-and to GEVEA?"

"Well, the demon was puppeting you, but yeah. That was YOUR power at work. YOU did that. AND YOU DID IT WITHOUT YOUR BOOK." She hugged the little wizard tighter. "You know what? You know what I think? I think maybe you just don't believe in yourself enough. 'Cos trust me, an antiaircraft battery couldn't have shoved Gevea back that far, not with her ready for it, an' all."

"I did all that?"

"Yep. AND you dodged her bolts like a boss. In fact, the only way we got the demon out of you was with Gevea and me teaming up on ya. Otherwise, it would 'a been a real throwdown."

For a time they were silent. Then, Sepia said, "I told you Master Azrael found me in a dumpster, right?"

"Yeah, and I can only imagine what that must 'a done to you, once you were old enough to understand."

Sepia looked down at her hands. Had these hands actually cast a bolt of energy that had knocked an Elemental back? "I was wrapped in some kinda blanket. Master Azrael said he'd never seen anything like it."

Now she looked up at Terra. "But there was something else in the blanket with me. Something only Master Azrael and I know about." Strange, thought Terra, her stuttering seems to have disappeared.

"What was it?" A pacifier, maybe? Some sort of letter?

C-come on, I'll show you." And she led the older blond to her room. She went over to a huge chest, opened it, and fished around in it, down towards the very bottom. "Now, d-don't freak, 'kay?" She brought out a gleaming implement and handed it to Terra.

Terra stared. It was a knife, a large folding lockblade of some sort, with brass bolsters and an expertly carved wooden grip. She opened it up and looked for the brand name. There wasn't one. "Huh. So this was wrapped up with you?"

"Yeah. Master Azrael thinks it might be a clue to, to my parents."

"But there's no brand name. No markings. No way to tell where it came from."

But Sepia was shaking her head. "It isn't j-just an ordinary knife, Miss Terra. Here. Come outside, and, and I'll show you."

She took Terra out back, where the trees formed a natural cover. There was a tree stump there, obviously used for cutting firewood. Terra wondered if little Sepia had been tasked with that job. Somehow she couldn't see Master Azrael swinging an axe. Maybe he used magic? Or taught Sepia how to use magic to cut firewood? The latter seemed most likely. "Watch," said Sepia, and placed a large chunk of wood on the stump, making sure it balanced. Then she drew back, opened the knife, and, with one swift movement, brought the gleaming blade straight down on the top of the wood chunk.

The blade cleaved through the wood as though it were tissue paper, only stopping when Sepia stopped it from going down into the stump. The two halves of the chunk of wood fell to either side. It hadn't even seemed to take much effort on the wizard girl's part.

Terra realized that her mouth was open. Although she'd never actually chopped wood, she knew it wasn't as easy as that. Yet the knife blade had cut through the wood as easily as a high-powered laser. Maybe more so. "Sepia," she whispered, "that's gotta be a magic knife."

"Yeah. That's what Master Azrael says. But he, he can't trace the enchantment. It, it's a kind he's never encountered before."

"But…that means your parents must have been magic users, or knew magic users. Maybe that's why Master Azrael can't find them. Sepia!" She grasped the little wizard by the arms. "I think they DID put you in that dumpster to protect you! It's the only rational explanation! And, and they gave you an, an artifact to let you know they were magic users! Which means…they could still be…alive…somewhere! We just have to find them!"

"D-do you really think so?"

…

The Citadel of Poseidon: Ray had just rounded a corner, when he was caught and shoved up against the wall. "Well, if it isn't Mr. Troublemaker himself," said Sharkster. His crafty expression turned into a snarl. "Thanks to you, I got twelve demerits." His cronies around him murmured agreement.

The old Ray would have been terrified. Here he was, facing a hostile gang. The new Ray, however, had had a gutful of Sharkster taunts. He shoved Sharkster back. "Guess you don't have the guts to go it alone, huh? Gotta make it a group effort. Well, I guess if I were you, I'd be afraid to come at me all by myself, too."

Sharkster face turned as red as a beet. "You guys," he indicated his gang, "stay back. He's MINE!"

"Bring it, Sharkbait!"

When the fight was over, Ray had technically lost, having taken more hits than he'd given. But Sharkster had suffered two cracked ribs, a broken finger, and had lost three teeth, right in the front of his mouth.

And he was forever after nicknamed "Sharkbait."

…

Deep Space: Starfire had zoomed out of the portal to Nekron's dimension as soon as she could. That peculiar level of existence sapped her internal reserves of energy far faster than was normal. It was a coldness beyond mere temperature.

Behind her emerged a horde of dead and seemingly-decaying creatures, each and every one of them with a blackly-glowing ring somewhere upon one of its appendages. In a few cases, she noted, there were beings who were complete orbs, with no appendages. In their case, the rings had been fitted around their bodies.

Krona flew in close to her. Grudgingly, he nodded, and indicated the seemingly endless ranks behind her. "We will follow you to Earth, and establish ourselves upon your moon, awaiting instructions. I am assigning one of my most valued lieutenants to be your liaison." Pause. "I think you will see the rationale for that choice." He then flew off ahead, his own power opening a wormhole gateway back to Earth.

A decayed form flew up to Starfire. "Greetings, Princess Koriand'r. Or would you rather I call you Starfire?" The creature seemed oddly familiar in some strange way…

"As we are under battle conditions, perhaps 'Starfire' would be more appropriate. May I ask who you are? Krona seemed to think it important that he chose you among," and here she glanced at the literal cosmic cloud of dead zombified creatures behind, "all the others."

The living corpse beside her smiled. "Of course. I am Abin Sur. It was I who gifted your Green Lantern with his power ring."

Starfire stared. "And now you work for, for Lord Nekron?"

Abin Sur shrugged. "In life, I served Life. Now, in death, I serve Death. That should come as no great surprise, Princess. One serves those over them. It is the natural way."

"But must not one also serve one's friends? How can you do that, if you serve death?"

"Many of my friends are dead. And, Starfire of Tameran," he turned an unnervingly penetrating gaze upon her, "much of your attitude is based upon your perception, which is, as yet, incomplete. As you will discover in time, there is not a great deal of difference between life and death." And so saying, Abin Sur flew off to join the host of Black Lanterns.

The Mythic Forest: Gevea received a 'ball cast from Solstice. "Gevea, I'm afraid I have some bad news." And she relayed Vlad's message to the stunned Elemental. "So it looks like, one way or another, Markovia will shortly be under attack."

Terra was stunned. On the one hand, she welcomed her father having to deal with demon hordes…but she also had a half-brother, Brion Markov, with whom she was close. She had no doubt but that he would rise to the defense of their homeland….

….and fall.

"So when do we leave?" she asked.

To be continued…

Hey guys I know I just updated story A few weeks ago. Hope you guys like the story if you have any request you can just PM me. See you guys real soon


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